Rafiuddin Mohammad

Programme Lead @CEEWIndia | PhD, Atmospheric Sciences from @jncasr | Mechanical Engineer | Tweets/Likes/Retweets - Personal

[CEEW @CEEWIndia]

#Explainer | Why do cities get polluted in the summer?

Delhi's air quality alerts ran on a loop this spring: GRAP revoked, reimposed, revoked, reimposed.

Winter smog gets the headlines. But summer has its own pollution story, and Indian cities are underprepared for it.

Our researchers @mrafiuddin50 and Sneha Maria Ignatious break down what's driving summer PM10 and ozone spikes across six major cities—and what cities can actually do about it.

Read the full-page spread in today's @the_hindu 👇

[CEEW @CEEWIndia]

Why do kharif farm fires affect Delhi’s #AirQuality more severely than rabi fires, even when fire counts may not always be higher?

The answer lies in the atmospheric conditions around them. During kharif season, a lower planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) traps pollutants closer to the ground, weaker winds slow its dispersal, and prevailing North-Westerly winds carry smoke towards Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Together, these conditions make it harder for #pollution to escape.

Our #NewBlog by Evita Merin Xavier, Sneha Maria Ignatious, @mrafiuddin50, connects the dots between #FarmFires and meteorology to explain why the same source of pollution can have very different impacts across seasons.

Read here: https://t.co/7lRRk9juom

[CEEW @CEEWIndia]

Indian summers are increasingly bringing a double burden: extreme #heat and worsening #airpollution. Alongside rising temperatures, cities also see PM10 levels breach national standards during this season, with dust emerging as the dominant summer pollutant.

As #dust levels rise again this summer, we’re revisiting a blog from last year that unpacked why cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata continue to see worsening summer air pollution. The analysis by @mrafiuddin50 and @SnehaIgnatious highlights how dust storms, loose road dust, #construction activity, and ozone formation driven by vehicular emissions combine to create a distinct summer pollution challenge that demands its own action plan.

🔗 Read the blog: https://t.co/XQlk6xEE1s

[Rafiuddin Mohammad @mrafiuddin50]

@SadaaShree https://t.co/rWGzKXnWvV
Give credit to the site you have lifted info from. That's the least one can do.

[Rafiuddin Mohammad @mrafiuddin50]

And things have gotten worse. You cannot, absolutely cannot, cross the road anywhere in Hyderabad safely. My city has become unjust to pedestrians and bowed down to car owners.

[peeleraja @peeleraja]

I dont know why people are so enamored by Hyderabad's Gachibowli and HITEC City. Impossible to be a pedestrian on the main roads - no footpaths or traffic signals. Crossing the road is a Squid Game challenge. Our ideas of development and infrastructure are so messed up.

[Karthik Balachandran @karthik2k2]

Those who saw’A Beautiful Mind’, would remember that John Nash’s doctoral thesis had just 26 pages and 2 references, yet it was instrumental in advancing “Game theory”. What if I told you there is a scientist whose achievement is so astounding that he is perhaps the only Indian to “create” an intersectional branch of science? What if I told you that every year, his name echoes across the hallowed halls of science in foreign lands, but most of our students haven't even heard of him?

Aneesur Rahman was born in Hyderabad in British India in 1927. His father was a professor and a philanthropist. His family generously donated their property for the creation of Urdu Hall in Hyderabad. His maternal uncle was a professor too. Rahman had a natural flair for subjects that would terrify ‘normal’ students — maths and physics. After getting BSc in Mathematics, he went on to get Tripos in Mathematics and Physics at the prestigious Cambridge University in the UK. From there, he went to Louvaine University in Belgium and got DSc in Physics under Professor Mannenbeck. It’s here that Rahman met a Chinese student Yueh-Erh Li who was doing MD( called Dr Jady by friends). They fell in love and got married.

He came back to teach in Osmania university along with his wife. Soon after, he developed interest in the structure of water molecule - especially the polarisation of the hydrogen atom. Unfortunately research in India was at infancy in those days and Dr Rahman realized he was a whale in a tiny pond. He had to move to the ocean. He joined the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.

His foundational paper in 1964 birthed “molecular dynamics” , one of the two pillars on which a vast body of computational physics rests.(the other is Monte Carlo method). His equation made it possible to calculate the trajectory of large number of interacting atoms with ease.

His work, like Ramanujan’s , was so ahead of his time - that even today, potential applications are being discovered. The Nobel prize in physics for 2013 went to Karplus, Levitt and Warshel whose work depended heavily on Dr Aneesur Rahman’s.

Some say there is an inverse association between genius and compassion -Dr Rahman was a prominent exception. He was known not just for his intellect, but also kind nature and mentored many students all over the world. His quiet, unassuming nature made him a much loved professor — and he remained so, until he got Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a cancer that took him away from us prematurely, at the age of 59. Perhaps he might have got a Nobel, if only he had lived longer.

American Physical Society honors him as the father of computational physics and has instituted an annual award in his name.

As a doctor with little idea of theoretical physics, writing Dr Aneesur Rahman’s portrait has been difficult , because of the complex nature of his work that straddles so many areas of science : mathematics, physics, computer science and chemistry. His equations are mind boggling, even intimidating, but
what I do understand is this : Dr Rahman didn't just have a beautiful mind, but also a beautiful heart.

[CEEW @CEEWIndia]

Stubble burning remains one of the toughest data challenges in India’s #AirQuality fight. We now know part of why.

In a field-level analysis across 169 plots in #Punjab, satellites detected just seven fires over two consecutive days in November 2020. Many small or short-lived burns simply don’t show up.

When fires are missed, so are the decisions that depend on them. Better detection is the first step to better action on #StubbleBurning.

Read our blog by Mohammad Rafiuddin (@mrafiuddin50), Sneha Maria Ignatious and Rishikesh P to learn how satellite monitoring works, and where it falls short.
https://t.co/CnGgklquGP

[Warrior Moms @Warriormomsin]

Thank you to Minister @mssirsa for his time and initiative to discuss the concerns of the parents.

Also, while we spoke, Delhi government has issued three new guidelines today;
* No PUC = No petrol/diesel, vigilance through cameras.
* Complete ban on trucks bringing construction material.
* Restriction on entry of private vehicles from outside Delhi that are below BSVI category.

We have stressed on to;
•Drop or comprehensively overhaul the existing PUC system.
•Adopt a live, real world vehicle emissions monitoring framework (remote sensing / on-road monitoring) aligned with @CAQM_Official recommendations.
•Base traffic and pollution interventions on PM2.5 and health impact metrics, not only index based thresholds.

[Kareem Carr, Ph.D. @kareem_carr]

Etiquette rules for PhDs:

– Never mention your PhD under any circumstances.

– For instance, if you get a PhD, don't celebrate it online. It is indecent.

– Don’t even pursue a PhD (especially if you’re a woman).

- Never assert that you are particularly knowledgeable in your area of expertise

- But also never speak on things outside your area of expertise, even when literally everybody else online is weighing in

– Don’t be political in public. It damages your credibility.

- But also don't be political in private. Don't, for instance, use your right as a free citizen to attend political protests. It damages your credibililty.

– Never sound confident. Obviously, this is just how everybody talks online, but a PhD doing it is pretty arrogant if you think about it.

In short, PhDs should not exist, and if they do exist, they should at least have the decency to not participate in life.

[Rajiv @Rajiv1841]

That is why I said, respect WTC Champion captain Temba Bavuma.

It doesn't look good when a great bowler of this generation & other players calling him "Bauna". He didn't say a single word in reply but be replied as a leader with bat & won them the game!

[Jonty Rhodes @JontyRhodes8]

Passing through Delhi en route to Ranchi this evening, and as always, it’s hard to digest the low levels of air quality here. Am grateful to be living in a small fishing village in South Goa ##AQI #whats2Bdone

[The DeshBhakt 🇮🇳 @TheDeshBhakt]

Maturity is realising that we have been reduced to a nation of cockroaches - when citizens cannot be peacefully protest against Air Pollution!!
Even the Communist Chinese Govt listened to its people & cleaned up Beijing & surrounding areas in a big way.

[Press Trust of India @PTI_News]

VIDEO | People hold protest at India Gate against air pollution in Delhi.

A protester says, "Private monitors show that the air quality index has crossed 999 at several locations. Instead of taking concrete action, authorities are shutting down a peaceful protest. What are people asking for? Their right to breathe. For the last 15 days, we haven’t heard anything — no lockdown, no shutdown. There are only stories about cloud seeding or other distractions. It’s a very unfortunate situation."

The air quality in the city remained in the 'very poor' category on Sunday morning, with the overall Air Quality Index recorded at 391, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)

[Manu Joseph @manujosephsan]

On behalf of all Malayalees in North India, I declare the start of Winter 2025. The coconut oil has frozen.

[Sumit Behal @sumitkbehal]

If you are living in Delhi NCR , you shouldn’t worry over air pollution in winter season

You should buy Air Purifier with 18% GST on it to boost India's tax collection in the state of health emergency

Government will fix everything in 2047

[Vimlendu Jha विमलेंदु झा @vimlendu]

Dear Government/s, you take my breath away.

[Dr. Datta M.D. (Radiology) M.B.B.S. 🇮🇳 @DrDatta_AIIMS]

I am going! Oomfs in Delhi who are coming lmk!

[Bhavreen Kandhari @BhavreenMK]

Somehow, every political party panelist I have been with on the recent debates are nodding in agreement; they too are parents, worried about their children’s health.

Clean air is not a partisan demand.

#HelpUsBreathe

[Saurav Das @SauravDassss]

🚨*CALL FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST*🚨

There comes a time when silence no longer makes sense.

That time is NOW.

Citizens of Delhi—RISE TO THE OCCASION!

Join the protest in large numbers this Sunday, 9 November, 5 PM at India Gate, to make sure we are SEEN and we are HEARD!

#HelpUsBreathe

Join the WhatsApp group: https://t.co/i4STtT63UV

[Milann Desai @Milan_reports]

My child is a 11 month-old baby. He caught a flu, which is common during this season. But the bad smoke in the air made it worse. Chest congestion, wheezing, coughing, black soot up his nose. Locked inside with an air purifier.
A 11 month-old baby.
You know how bad the air actually is when you see your children suffering in silence.
#Pollution