The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune has developed the System of Air Pollution Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), that will be become operational by April they hope.

 

Similar systems were used at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and at last year's Olympics in Beijing.

 

Gufran Beign, the scientist and project director of SAFAR, said: "The system will tell us the quality of air at a given moment and also what it will be 24 hours later, thus alerting people and helping them avoid immediate exposure to unhealthy air."

 

SAFAR will provide information on air quality on an hourly basis and forecast pollution levels 24 hours in advance through wireless colour digital display panels located at 10 key points in the city during the Games.

 

Ajit Tyagi, the director of the Indian Meteorological Department, said: "On any day, if the pollution level is high, the Delhi Government might order closing of shops or reducing traffic flow."

 

Commonwealth Games officials plan to utilise the new technology to help try to make the air quality better during the event, which opens on October 3, 2010.

 

The organisers are confident that the existing traffic density can be reduced drastically by making the quality of public transportation more appealing.

 

The Indian capital is ranked among the top 10 polluted cities in the world, mainly as a result of more people owning cars with more than five million now on the road.

 

Cars account for 75 per cent of traffic on the road in Delhi, although only 20 per cent of people commuting to work use them.

 

In the build-up to the Olympics in Beijing last year, Chinese authorities enforced traffic restrictions, raising emission standards and stopping Games' construction work well in time to improve air quality.

 

SAFAR will provide the air quality levels in a four-kilometre stretch around the Commonwealth Games Village and other major venues.

 

SAFAR will provide details about oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, black carbon and benzene present in Delhi air.

 

Beig said: "Exposure to the pollutants will affect human health, increased respiratory symptoms, heart and lung diseases, allergies being some of them.

 

"SAFAR will make India one of the few countries to take a big leap in environmental research."