North India switches to Euro IV fuel from April 1, 2015

With the start of the new fiscal, North India has moved to Euro IV standard fuel. The move is expected to bring down the levels of particulate emissions from diesel vehicles. Euro IV diesel has a much lesser sulphur content (50 ppm) compared to BS III fuel (350 ppm).

While the supply of Euro IV fuel has started in all north India cities, truck manufacturers are still not producing engines that can comply with the standards. It will be only in October that Euro IV-compliant vehicles will be rolled out. That means Delhi, the national capital, will not experience a big drop in the levels of pollution for another six months at least. Euro-IV fuel has been available in 13 cities across the country including Delhi since 2010. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has stated that it is waiting for a notification from the government regarding the implementation of the norms. The body will place orders for new components of Euro IV vehicles.

Sulphur is directly linked to emissions of respirable particulate matter, a major pollutant in Delhi. About 46,000 heavy vehicles enter the city on a daily basis. Many of them are from other states and do not comply with the pollution norms. However, the absence of peripheral expressways, they have no option but to ply through the city.

A study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) reveals that if stricter fuel norms are not implemented, PM2.5 levels will rise three time and NOx levels will go up six times the current levels by 2030. However, if Euro IV is implemented throughout the country by 2015 and Euro V is introduced by 2020 then PM2.5 and NOx can be limited to slightly-higher-than-current levels.

Source: ET Auto