Kolkata pollution gets better but miles to go yet

KOLKATA: From the 10th rank on the 2019 list of the most polluted cities as far as PM2.5 and PM10 are concerned, Kolkata stood at 29 last year. Howrah's rank, on the other hand, has improved from seventh in 2019 to 20. However, both the cities have a long way to go to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, which is the revised target set by the Centre recently.
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The Centre, which had launched the Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, has already spent Rs 6,897 crore for 133 non-attainment cities (six of them - Kolkata, Howrah, Haldia, Barrackpore, Durgapur and Asansol-Ranigunj - are in Bengal. The study conducted by NCAP Tracker, a joint project by Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences, found Delhi the worst polluted city in the country (PM2.5). However, Delhi's PM2.5 levels improved by over 7% compared to 2019. The PM2.5 top 10 list does not have any of Bengal's non-attainment cities. But, Durgapur has featured among the PM10 top 10 cities.

Finer particulate matter like PM2.5 is the biggest villain, responsible for high premature mortality in Kolkata. The country's current annual average safe limits for PM 2.5 and PM 10 are 40 micrograms/per cubic metre (ug/m3) and 60 micrograms/per cubic metre.
Apart from Kolkata and Howrah, Asansol's rank has improved from 9th in 2019 to 17 last year. Haldia, which was a critically polluted city, has featured in the top 10 least polluted (PM2.5) non-attainment cities on the new list.

"We have the most intense air quality monitoring network in the country, which helps us to take real-time, hyper-local interventions to mitigate pollutions. Moreover, the source apportionment studies have also helped us to take mitigating measures. However, we have a long way to go to achieve the NCAP target," said Bengal PCB chairman Kalyan Rudra.
Most cities in the top 10 most-polluted list of 2022 are from the Indo-Gangetic plain, hinting that real and long-term solutions lie in an airshed approach to address the need for better air pollution management in the region beyond Delhi. It also reiterates the need to check pollution at source to obtain maximum benefit from pollution mitigation efforts.
Climate Trends director Aarti Khosla said: " The results are not surprising. On detailed examination, the study busts myths and shows that coastal cities like Mumbai are equally affected by air pollution. The CPCB has already issued stricter reduction targets for the non-attainment cities."
"The study clearly showed that the cities rigorously implementing policies with support from CAQM, National Knowledge Network and central and state pollution boards to clean their air are showing results. Much work is needed to reduce the finer sources of pollutants," said Ronak Sutaria, founder and CEO of Respirer Living Sciences.
Kolkata: From the 10th rank on the 2019 list of the most polluted cities as far as PM2.5 and PM10 are concerned, Kolkata stood at 29 last year. Howrah's rank, on the other hand, has improved from seventh in 2019 to 20. However, both the cities have a long way to go to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate pollution by 2026, which is the revised target set by the Centre recently.
The Centre, which had launched the Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, has already spent Rs 6,897 crore for 133 non-attainment cities (six of them - Kolkata, Howrah, Haldia, Barrackpore, Durgapur and Asansol-Ranigunj - are in Bengal. The study conducted by NCAP Tracker, a joint project by Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences, found Delhi the worst polluted city in the country (PM2.5). However, Delhi's PM2.5 levels improved by over 7% compared to 2019. The PM2.5 top 10 list does not have any of Bengal's non-attainment cities. But, Durgapur has featured among the PM10 top 10 cities.
Finer particulate matter like PM2.5 is the biggest villain, responsible for high premature mortality in Kolkata. The country's current annual average safe limits for PM 2.5 and PM 10 are 40 micrograms/per cubic metre (ug/m3) and 60 micrograms/per cubic metre.
Apart from Kolkata and Howrah, Asansol's rank has improved from 9th in 2019 to 17 last year. Haldia, which was a critically polluted city, has featured in the top 10 least polluted (PM2.5) non-attainment cities on the new list.
"We have the most intense air quality monitoring network in the country, which helps us to take real-time, hyper-local interventions to mitigate pollutions. Moreover, the source apportionment studies have also helped us to take mitigating measures. However, we have a long way to go to achieve the NCAP target," said Bengal PCB chairman Kalyan Rudra.
Most cities in the top 10 most-polluted list of 2022 are from the Indo-Gangetic plain, hinting that real and long-term solutions lie in an airshed approach to address the need for better air pollution management in the region beyond Delhi. It also reiterates the need to check pollution at source to obtain maximum benefit from pollution mitigation efforts.
Climate Trends director Aarti Khosla said: " The results are not surprising. On detailed examination, the study busts myths and shows that coastal cities like Mumbai are equally affected by air pollution. The CPCB has already issued stricter reduction targets for the non-attainment cities."
"The study clearly showed that the cities rigorously implementing policies with support from CAQM, National Knowledge Network and central and state pollution boards to clean their air are showing results. Much work is needed to reduce the finer sources of pollutants," said Ronak Sutaria, founder and CEO of Respirer Living Sciences.