In 2017, Lucknow had only 17 days of ‘good quality’ air
Alarming--There were 70 days when the city had ‘safe category’ air, says study.
lucknow Updated: Jan 16, 2018 15:28 IST
In 2017, there were only 17 days when Lucknowites breathed ‘good’ quality air while there were 70 days when city folks had ‘safe category’ air.
People in the state capital had ‘bad’ air quality for 277 days (76%) last year and 170 of these days (61%) saw relatively high levels of pollution – ‘poor to severe’ category. Only 70 days (19%) were under the ‘satisfactory’ category.
These are the findings of Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED) that compiled the data sheet of the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily reading for Lucknow’s air quality in 2017.
In November and December 2017, Lucknow’s air was not less than toxic smoke and was found under ‘very poor’ to ‘Severe+’ category for 61 consecutive days.
The report cited Lalbagh as the most polluted place in Lucknow among the three locations where continuous air quality monitoring stations are installed. The annual mean PM2.5 concentration in Lalbagh was 130 μg/m3, followed by Talkatora (129 μg/m3) and Aliganj (104 μg/m3).
Ramapati Kumar, CEO of CEED said, “The air pollution in the city is a serious problem, with serious threat of particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration.”
- Lalbagh was found to be the most polluted place in Lucknow among three locations where real-time pollutants’ data is measured. As an immediate response to the state of ambient air quality in Lucknow, the UP government must formulate a Clean Air Action Plan with each action plan in a time-bound manner, said an expert The government must inform residents about the air quality and must also issue health advisory for the citizens, he added.
The purpose of the report is to summarise the ambient air quality of Lucknow in 2017 and to investigate the level of exposure of air pollution. Data from the CPCB real-time monitoring stations was used and further analyzed using varied statistical tools and techniques, he said.
Elaborating on the findings, Ankita Jyoti, senior programme officer of CEED said, “According to CPCB’s daily air quality bulletin, November 14 was the most polluted. The report highlighted November as the most polluted month, while July was found least polluted.”
“The state government should chalk out an affirmative clean air action plan with a time-bound implementation strategy to prevent perennial air pollution episodes. The action plan identifies a set of action priorities as per emission source, recognised regulations, and also includes institutional arrangement that will set it on track to mitigate pollution,” suggested Kumar.