City's air quality breached PM 10 limit on 49 days since February: Report
MUMBAI: Just after the winter months, when air quality appears to improve with the air quality monitoring stations hitting the green mark, a closer look at data from February to April reveals a different story.
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in a report states that of the 89 days observed, 49 days (55%) breached the permissible PM 10 limit of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), according to data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less is small enough to be inhaled.
According to NAAQS, an AQI (Air Quality Index) of 100 in PM10 is the permissible limit in 24-hours; annually it is 60.
In the month of February, all 28 days breached the permissible limit, recording an average AQI of 130, which further dropped to 108 in March, when 17 of the 31 days breached the limit. It then drastically dropped to an AQI of 78 in April, when only four of the 30 days breached the mark.
Experts attribute this drastic drop in AQI to a change in weather patterns. 'Meteorological conditions led to an improvement in AQI but emissions remained stable,' said Bhagwan Kesbhat, founder of Waatavaran, an environmental organisation.
While the majority of air quality monitoring stations showed poor air quality, those in Deonar, Bandra Kurla Complex, Malad West, Chakala-Andheri and Kurla were major contributors. Deonar saw the lowest AQI, which ranged between 155 and 225 across all three months studied.
'This report exposes the myth that air quality is a seasonal problem. Sources of air pollution continue to contribute the same amount of pollutants, weather patterns only make it look better,' said Kesbhat.
Manoj Kumar, analyst at CREA said, 'This is only the tip of the iceberg. The permissible limits are being re-evaluated since the last NAAQS limits were set in 2009 and the situation has changed since then.'
The report focuses on PM 10 limits, given that the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) aims to bring PM 10 levels down by 40% compared to 2017 by 2026. 'We also need to look at PM 2.5 emissions from vehicles, eateries and industries. Mumbai has its focus on the construction industry, which emits PM 10 but PM2.5 cannot be ignored as it is more harmful,' added Kumar.
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