A TOXIC NEIGHBOURHOOD

DEADLY PARTICLES

WORST POLLUTERS

Open burning of trash by the Agra municipality; burning of scrap tyres to extract iron; wood-burning crematoriums; forest fires; chullahs—in homes and small-scale industries; onroad and off-road diesel engines; industrial emission

DISCOLOURING THE TAJ

Scientists have found that tiny dust particles, black carbon (soot) and brown organic carbon are sticking to the Taj surface. They absorb ultraviolet light, giving the white marble a dirty brown hue

GREEN MARBLE

Chironomid insects emerge from the water at night and swarm the monument, staining it green

Open burning of waste and diesel fumes release tiny carbon particles that stick to the marble. They are insoluble in water and hard to remove. The only way to reduce emissions is to identify and eliminate the sources of pollution

BROWN CARBON

Solid waste from animal and crop sources; meat processing waste; leather tanning waste; stubble burning in nearby states: these are the biggest sources of hazardous brown carbon in the air, Agra’s enduring bane

SAND IN THE AIR

Dust particles, mostly from the Rajasthan deserts, and illegal sand mining, increase the level of suspended particulate matter in the air. Sand particles also abrade the marble