Poor air quality across 41 cities in 2015, says CPCB survey

According to a latest analysis released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in 2015, 41 Indian cities with a million-plus population faced bad air quality in nearly 60% of the total days monitored.

• Days wherein all monitored parameters like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter are within the prescribed norms were considered good days while remaining monitoring days when value of one or the other parameter exceeds the norms were categorised as bad days.

Details:

• The three cities—Gwalior, Varanasi and Allahabad—which didn’t have even one single good air quality day was followed by Raipur with 2%, Lucknow with 3%, Delhi and Ghaziabad with 4% each among all the days when their air quality was monitored.
• Among the best, Coimbatore had 99% of good air quality days, Rajkot had 96%, Ahmedabad and Madurai 93% each, Vishakhapatnam, Surat and Chennai with 92% each.
• Most cities recorded high percentage of good days during monsoon season and low percentage of good days during winter season. Coastal cities have recorded higher percentage of good days compared to the land locked cities. Southern and western cities recorded higher percentage of good days.

Way ahead:

There is a need for strong national air quality planning strategy so that each and every city has a clear pollution source-wise plan which is to be implement in a time bound manner. Otherwise its implications on public health are going to a very serious.