97.6% Maha population breathes polluted air
MUMBAI: In a recently published paper by the World Bank Group, Maharashtra has ranked third in the list of most populated sub-national regions globally, with 97.6% of its population exposed to either hazardous or unsafe levels of air pollution, specifically PM2.5.
The paper, ‘Air Pollution and Poverty: PM2.5 Exposure in 211 Countries and Territories’, used remote sensing data for aerosol concentration, population numbers from the Worldpop Global High Resolution Population data set (WPGP) and a chemical transport model to ascertain the movement of PM2.5 pollutants. Maharashtra was only behind Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where 99.8% of the population breathes hazardous or unsafe levels of air pollution.
Experts pointed out that Maharashtra, given its size and economy, has long been one of the worst-affected states due to air pollution.
“Maharashtra has the highest number of non-attainment cities in the country as per the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), at 25. These are all rapidly expanding urban centres which are struggling to curb emissions at source, whether due to vehicles, construction and development works, poor waste management, or industries. These cities are regularly recording daily PM2.5 averages in excess of 35ug/m3,” said Sachin Panwar, an independent air quality scientist certified by the Quality Council of India.
VM Motghare, joint director (air quality) at Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
A sub-regional officer with the MPCB, seeking anonymity, said, “We have known for a long time that interior Maharashtra is more affected by air pollution because it is industrialising and expanding at a very rapid pace. Also, the winter is much more pronounced in Madhya (central) Maharashtra and Vidarbha, and this makes a big difference in exposure as compared to the Konkan districts, where the coastal effect mitigates exposure. We are planning to install 47 new air quality monitors across the state in the next few weeks, to give us a better idea of problem areas.”
SN Tripathi, an atmospheric scientist and professor of civil engineering at Iit-kanpur pointed out a limitation. “They have considered the WHO safe limits and not the standards of respective countries. The Institute for Advanced Study has brought out a working paper arguing that safe limits for air pollution should be an outcome of local geographic and environmental conditions, as well as people’s response to this exposure. The only way to do it correctly is to have our own studies. If the Indian standards are applied, the paper would show a different picture. However, there is no denial that our cities are not meeting even their own standards.”