Black Carbon

Current Context : According to a new study India’s reliance on kerosene-based lamps accounts for about 10 per cent of the total residential black carbon emissions.

ABOUT BLACK CARBON:

Black carbon, or soot, is a major component of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter).

• It results from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biomass (wood, cow dung) and other organic materials.

Sources:

• Primary sources in India include traditional cookstoves, diesel engines, forest fires, wildfires, and agricultural burning.

Environmental Impact:

• Black carbon has a warming impact that is 460 to 1,500 times higher than CO₂.
• It absorbs sunlight, increasing local temperatures and accelerating glacier melting, especially in regions like the Gangotri Glacier.

Seasonal Influence:

• Black carbon concentration near Gangotri Glacier rises by 400 times during summer, primarily due to increased emissions from forest fires and agricultural burning​