In a first, air quality across the state will be monitored

Jaipur: From desert districts in the west to resource-deprived Karauli and Dholpur in the east, from north’s agriculture-rich areas nearing Punjab to hilly tribal belts in the south, for the first time the air quality will be checked in all the districts of the state.
The check will cover all the districts which will continuously monitor air quality and generate every minute data on 16 types of air pollutants. The Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RPBCB) is setting up 36 new continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in all the districts of the state.
NO, NO2, NOx, NH3, SO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5, Volatile Organic Compounds (benzene, toluene, ethyle benzene, MP xylene, O xylene), temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, rainfall. At present, only 10 already existing CAAQMS are working in eight districts, including three in Jaipur, and one each in Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pali, Bhiwadi, Alwar, Kota and Ajmer. With 36 new CAAMS are coming up, the number of CAAQMS in the state will be increased to 46.
Till now 25 districts did not have any CAAQMS to give clear picture of pollution in the districts, the people of such districts were not aware about the level of air pollution in their districts.
“We are expanding our CAAQMS from eight districts to all the 33 districts of the state. It is expected that most of the new CAAQMS will begin generating every minute data of pollutant in the air before Diwali,” said a senior official at RSPCB.
The official said that each CAAQMS cost Rs1 crore, while will generate data round the clock (the monitoring of pollutants is carried out for 24 hours) on 16 different air pollutants and harmful particles and other details about weather including Nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide or NO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Nitrogen oxides (NOx), Gaseous ammonia (NH3), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM / PM10) and Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Volatile organic compounds, (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyle Benzene, MP Xylene, O Xylene), temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, rainfall.
In the absence of CAAQMS in 25 districts, the people were unware about the trends of ambient air quality in their districts and it was difficult for them to ascertain whether the prescribed ambient air quality standards are violated and whether the air quality is posing serious health hazards. Now, through new CAAQMS, they will obtain the knowledge about the air pollution in their districts.
“We will set up two display boards – one at the building where the CAAQMS is installed and the second will be installed at the place which is the main area of the city so that every person passing the place will have knowledge about the air pollution in their district,” the official said.
Besides, the state government will also be made aware about the level of air pollution in different districts and based on that they will develop preventive and corrective measures.
It will also help the state government in understanding the natural cleansing process undergoing in the environment through pollution dilution, dispersion, wind-based movement, dry deposition, precipitation and chemical transformation of pollutants generated.