Patiala one of mostpolluted cities globally: WHO report

‘FUDGED’ Figures unscientific as parameters never monitored by any agency in state’s cities from 20102016: Board

PATIALA: A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) released its report on 20 most-polluted cities globally with Patiala figuring at 13th spot in the list, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Wednesday termed the figures as “fudged and unscientific”. In the study, the WHO claimed that Patiala along with other 13 Indian cities recorded PM2.5 concentration level reaching 101 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) from 2010 to 2016.

PATIALA : A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) released its report on 20 mostpolluted cities globally with Patiala figuring at 13th spot in the list, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Wednesday termed the figures as “fudged and unscientific”.

In the study, the WHO claimed that Patiala along with other 13 Indian cities recorded PM2.5 concentration level reaching 101 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) from 2010 to 2016.

PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu said the WHO has come up with distorted figures based on completely illogical concepts.

“Even in industrial cities like Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh, the concentration level of PM2.5 has even reached near 100 ug/m3,” Pannu said.

“The parameters on the basis of which the WHO has released data related to PM2.5 were never monitored by the PPCB or other government agency in any Punjab city from 2010 to 2016.”

Under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s air monitoring programme, at least 24 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations were installed in the main cities of Punjab in 2016 to monitor sulphur dioxide and nitrogen levels to keep tabs on PM10.

“The WHO has misinterpreted the PM10 data to PM2.5 without carrying any scientific study in the state and has come up with wrong figures,” Pannu said. He said the monitoring stations in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mandi Gobindgarh, Jalandhar, Patiala and Khanna were installed between 2016 and 2018 to get real-time PM2.5 figures on a regular basis and it is put in public domain.

“Before interpreting or using the data for this report, the WHO neither consulted nor shared any information with the board,” he said. The board has decided to challenge the report and take up the matter with the WHO.

WHO OFFICIAL DEFENDS DATA

Responding to an e-mail about the source of the data, the public information and advocacy officer of WHO’s South-East Asia regional office said the database compiles ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of particulate matter of a diameter equal or smaller than PM10 or equal or smaller than PM2.5 and aims at representing an average as a whole, rather than individual stations.

“Years of measurements range mostly from 2010 to 2016, but in few cases the latest available data is older,” the officer said.