Updated: November 27, 2020 7:30:33 am
The study also found that 436 cities / towns with a population greater than 1 lakh in 2019 exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 40 micrograms per metric cube (μg / m3).
While the Indo-Ganges plain remains the most polluted region in the country, indeed worldwide, in terms of PM 2.5 levels, the rate of increase in pollution levels in southern and eastern India is much larger than the Ganges plain. between 2000 and 2019, according to a study commissioned by the Central Board of Pollution Control.
The study, conducted jointly by IIT-Delhi and CPCB, also found that air pollution in rural areas has increased in line with urban India, a phenomenon that is rarely discussed with air pollution policies that continue to focus on. in urban centers.
On the levels of PM2.5 that cross the urban-rural divide, the study cites the example of Delhi, where PM2.5 increased by 10.9% between 2001 and 2015. During the same period, it notes, exposure to PM2 .5 in rural India increased 11.9 percent.
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The study, carried out on the basis of satellite data, is the first of its kind to spatially analyze air pollution. It found that the rate of increase of PM2.5 in eastern and southern India is more than 1.6 percent per year during this period, and less than 1.2 percent per year in the Ganges plain.
The study also found that 436 cities / towns with a population greater than 1 lakh in 2019 exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 40 micrograms per metric cube (μg / m3).
“We are currently in the process of collecting and analyzing the 2020 data as well. In the coming years, we expect the data to show a decrease in pollution levels, especially in rural areas, due to the Ujjwala scheme, as an important factor. What contributes (to air pollution) here is household emissions, ” said the study author. Sagnik Dey of IIT-Delhi said.
Dey said the spatial mapping of pollution will be vital for the government to shape its future policies under the National Clean Air Program.
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a major pollutant that affects the environment, human health, and the climate. According to the study, the population-weighted 20-year average PM2.5 in India is 57.3 μg / m3, with a larger increase observed between 2010 and 2019 than in the period 2000-09.
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“Poor air quality in the urban-rural transaction suggests that this is a regional-scale problem, a fact that is often overlooked,” says the study.
The study reports that environmental PM2.5 exceeds the annual NAAQS of 40 μg / m3 in all states except Jammu and Kashmir (now UT of J&K and Ladakh), Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
In 2019, 99.5% of districts in India did not meet the WHO air quality guideline of 10 μg / m3. The level of PM2.5 in the Ganges Plain, which has a population of more than Rs 70 million, and the western arid region is more than double the annual NAAQS, the study notes.
Between 2000 and 2010, PM2.5 in India showed a significant increase in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Northeast, while it decreased in J&K (including Ladakh), Himachal Pradesh and the desert region, says the study.
Between 2010 and 2019, the increase was found to be significant in West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, and parts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while a decrease was recorded in the eastern part of J&K. (now UT of Ladakh) and parts of Rajasthan.
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In Odisha and Chhattisgarh, which have seen one of the largest increases in air pollution in eastern India, this is due to mining activities and coal-fired power plants. In South India, high urbanization in and around cities like Bengaluru or Hyderabad has led to increased emissions, says Sagnik Dey from IIT-Delhi, author of the study. Unfavorable weather conditions in the east and the Indian peninsula, along with increased emissions, have led to an overall increase in PM 2.5. A steady increase in air pollution in rural India is due to high dependence on solid fuel for domestic use, and the study places domestic sources as “the largest contributor of environmental PM2.5 in India” .
Dey said: “While in absolute terms the level of air pollution is still the highest in the Ganges plains, the rate of increase in air pollution is much higher in southern India and certain areas of eastern India. India, like Odisha and Chhatisgarh, that the increase in IGP …. Our concern is that the focus is still on the IGP, but if we don’t start to address the increase in pollution (levels) in South and East India in Right now, in another 10 years these regions will also have the same problem as North India. “
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Some of the states that have shown the highest rate of increase of PM 2.5 in this period are Kerala (24.2% in urban areas and 21.9% in rural areas), Goa (36.4% in urban areas; 37.3% in rural areas). , Andhra Pradesh (20.1% in urban areas; 18.9% in rural areas), Maharashtra (24% in urban areas; 21% in rural areas) and Odisha (28% in urban and rural areas).
The study says: “The high PM 2.5 in rural areas is not surprising, since a large part of the population still depends on solid fuel for domestic use…. Domestic sources are found to be the biggest contributor to environmental PM2.5 in India. This implies that poor air quality in India is not an urban problem. As PMUY is implemented, it lacks a mechanism to track its progress. Given that domestic sources contribute more than 50% to environmental PM2.5 in rural areas, the successful implementation of PMUY with sustained use should stop or even reverse the increasing trend in rural PM2.5 in recent years ”.
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