Air quality in India has started to take a hit well before the onset of the winter season for a variety of reasons.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, as of 4 pm on October 19, Mumbai had an average AQI score of 156 while New Delhi was at 121. This was owing to the development projects - such as the metro construction, and real estate projects - that have been ongoing in India's financial capital, claims Mumbai’s guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar. “The pollution in Mumbai is not a chemical pollution, it is mostly dust pollution,” the minister is quoted as saying, adding that authorities are looking for ways to curb it.
There has also been a sharp decline in air quality In the northwest, particularly in the Delhi-NCR region, as the paddy harvesting season is beginning to intensify with reports indicating a significant increase in crop residue burning incidents.
Data from the Indian Space Research Organisation show there has been an 82% increase in fire incidents compared to the same period last year, with Punjab and Haryana contributing to 70% of stubble-burning cases.
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While New Delhi has always suffered poor air quality closer to the winter months, especially due to stubble burning from neighbouring states, Mumbai has surprisingly overtaken the national capital with a very high AQI (air quality index) score of its own.
Risk of respiratory illnesses
Mumbai has been enveloped in a blanket of mist in the last few days, which has pushed its AQI score to the moderate category. “There is availability of moisture, anti-cyclonic wind circulation which does not allow the wind to ascend. The anti-cyclone is right over Mumbai,” according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Sushma Nair. She added that the moisture gets stuck in the air due to it. However, this could pose health issues for those breathing such air as deteriorating AQI levels could cause respiratory illnesses.
Deteriorating air quality levels could see an increase in particulate matter (PM) such as gases and chemicals used in buildings, polishing furniture, and paints. A newspaper report quotes Dr Rajesh Sharma, mentor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital, as saying: “When the air quality is really bad, and people are constantly inhaling this (poor air), they tend to develop bronchitis. There is a definite correlation between poor air quality and worsening symptoms ranging from cough, breathlessness, and wheezing, over a period of time.”
Measures
Kesarkar says the authorities have installed fogging machines in Thane, which neighbours Mumbai, and they are ascertaining if such machines, besides pollutant-absorbing machines, can be installed in the financial capital as well. In early October, the centre introduced a set of anti-pollution measures called the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the Delhi-NCR region.
GRAP is implemented in four different stages based on the AQI scores in Delhi; Stage 1 - 'poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage 2 - 'very poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage 3 - 'severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage 4 - 'severe plus' (AQI >450).
Some of the measures in the GRAP include a complete ban on the use of coal and firewood in eateries, restaurants and hotels as soon as the AQI crosses the 200 mark. Other measures also include the well-publicised restrictions of the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi and Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar.
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