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Bhopal हवा में सफेद जहर

मध्य प्रदेश न्यूज़ डेस्क जिस हवा को हम सांस के जरिए ताजी हवा के रूप में शरीर में घोल रहे हैं, वह भी हमें बीमार कर रही है। चौंकिए मत! ऐसा इसलिए है क्योंकि बढ़ता जा रहा कोहरा कभी-कभी वायु प्रदूषण के स्तर को इस हद तक बढ़ा देता है कि यह हवा हमारे फेफड़ों को कमजोर करने लगती है। यह जानकारी सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) द्वारा शीतकालीन वायु प्रदूषण पर तैयार की गई ताजा रिपोर्ट से मिली है। रिपोर्ट मध्य प्रदेश और छत्तीसगढ़ के शहरों में ठंडे वायु प्रदूषण पर आधारित है। तदनुसार, वर्ष 2021 में भोपाल के लोगों ने 365 दिनों में से 38 दिनों में हवा में सांस ली जो शरीर को बीमार कर देगी। इस साल के वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक डेटा (AQI) से पता चलता है कि भोपाल का 38-दिन का AQI और इंदौर का 36-दिन का AQI खराब श्रेणी में था। सिंगरौली मध्य भारत का सबसे प्रदूषित शहर था। 2021 में यहां 95 दिनों का मौसम बेहद कमजोर और गंभीर था, जो राजधानी दिल्ली से भी खराब था। ऐसा क्यों हो रहा है - ट्रैफिक के कारण शाम 6 से 8 बजे के बीच नाइट्रोजन डाइऑक्साइड का स्तर पांच गुना बढ़ रहा है।

विंटर स्मॉग के कारण भोपाल वालों ने 2021 में बीमार करने वाली हवा में गुजार दिए 38 दिन

जिसे हम ताजी हवा मानकर सांसों के जरिए शरीर में घोल रहे हैं, वो हवा हमें बीमार भी कर रही है। चौंकिए नहीं! क्योंकि सर्दियों के साथ बढ़ने वाला विंटर स्मॉग कभी-कभी हवा में प्रदूषण का स्तर इतना बढ़ा देता है कि यही हवा हमारे फेफड़ों को कमजोर करने लगती है। ये जानकारी सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरोमेंट (सीएसई) की विंटर एयर पॉल्यूशन पर तैयार ताजा रिपोर्ट से मिली है। ये रिपोर्ट मध्यप्रदेश और छत्तीसगढ़ के शहरों में सर्द हवा से हो रहे प्रदूषण पर बनी है। इसके मुताबिक साल 2021 में भोपालवासियों ने 365 दिन में से 38 दिन एक ऐसी हवा में सांस ली, जो शरीर को बीमार कर देती। इस साल का एयर क्वॉलिटी इंडेक्स डेटा (एक्यूआई) बताता है कि भोपाल का 38 दिन का तो इंदौर का 36 दिन का एक्यूआई पुअर कैटेगरी का था। वहीं सिंगरौली मध्यभारत का सबसे प्रदूषित शहर रहा। 2021 में यहां की हवा 95 दिन वैरी पुअर और सीवियर कैटेगरी की थी, जो राजधानी दिल्ली की तरह की बदतर थी। क्यों हो रहा ऐसा- ट्रैफिक के कारण शाम 6 से रात 8 बजे के बीच पांच गुना बढ़ रहा है नाइट्रोजन डाई ऑक्साइड का स्तर भोपाल, इंदौर, जबलपुर में में 2.5 से 4.3 गुना ज्यादा NO2, इंदौर में शाम से रात बढ़ता है स्तर मप्र के सभी शहरों में वायु प्रदूषण के लिए ट्रैफिक सर्वाधिक जिम्मेदार है, शहरों में शाम 6 से रात 8 बजे के बीच नाइट्रोजन डाई ऑक्साइड (NO2) की सांद्रता (कंसंट्रेशन) काफी बढ़ जाती है। ग्वालियर में दोपहर की तुलना में शाम 6 बजे NO2 का स्तर पांच गुना ज्यादा बढ़ जाता है। वहीं भोपाल, इंदौर और जबलपुर में यह 2.5 से 4.3 गुना ज्यादा बढ़ जाता है। सुबह 7 से 8 बजे के बीच नाइट्रोजन डाई ऑक्साइड का स्तर शाम की तरह ही पीक पर होता है। इंदौर में शाम को बढ़ा हुआ NO2 का स्तर आधी रात तक बढ़ा हुआ रहता है, इसकी वजह यहां रात में ट्रकों का मूवमेंट बढ़ना है। सर्दी आते ही तेजी से बढ़ता है पीएम 2.5 सिंगरौली को छोड़ ज्यादातर शहरों में पीएम 2.5 राष्ट्रीय औसत स्तर से 30% कम रहता है। हालांकि सर्दियों की दस्तक के साथ ही यह से बढ़ता है और सभी शहरों में 100 एमजीसीएम के पार चला जाता है। नवंबर 2021 में ग्वालियर में पीएम-2.5 का वीकली औसत 202 एमजीसीएम पर पहुंच गया, जो काफी ज्यादा है। सिंगरौली में यह 191, कटनी में 141, भोपाल में 129, जबलपुर में 124, इंदौर में 104 एमजीसीएम पहुंच रहा है। सीएसई की शहरी प्रदूषण विशेषज्ञ अनुमिता राय चौधरी का कहना है कि मप्र-छग के शहरों और औद्योगिक इलाकों में तत्काल मल्टी सेक्टर क्लीन एयर प्रोग्राम चलाने की जरूरत है। इंदौर में सर्दियों में NO2 का स्तर खतरनाक इंदौर में नवंबर महीने में NO2 का औसत स्तर 83 एमजीसीएम रिकाॅर्ड हो रहा है, जो काफी खतरनाक है। जबलपुर में यह 60 एमजीसीएम और ग्वालियर में 49 एमजीसीएम हैं। सितंबर-अक्टूबर की तुलना में नवंबर आते ही ग्वालियर में यह 4.6 गुना और मंडीदीप में 4 गुना ज्यादा बढ़ जाता है।

White poison in the air: Due to the winter smog, people of Bhopal spent 38 days in the sick air in 2021

he air which we are dissolving in the body through breathing as fresh air, that air is also making us sick. Don’t be surprised! Because the increasing winter smog sometimes increases the level of pollution in the air so much that this air starts weakening our lungs. This information has been received from the latest report prepared by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) on winter air pollution. This report is made on the pollution caused by cold air in the cities of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. According to this, in the year 2021, Bhopalites breathed 38 days out of 365 days in such an air which would make the body sick. This year’s Air Quality Index data (AQI) shows that Bhopal’s AQI of 38 days was of the poor category and Indore’s 36-days. On the other hand, Singrauli remained the most polluted city in Central India. In 2021, the air here was 95 days of very poor and severe category, which was as bad as the capital Delhi. Why is this happening- Nitrogen dioxide level is increasing five times between 6 pm and 8 pm due to traffic In Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur 2.5 to 4.3 times more NO2, the level increases from evening to night in Indore Traffic is the most responsible for air pollution in all the cities of MP, the concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) increases significantly between 6 pm to 8 pm in the cities. In Gwalior, the level of NO2 increases five times more at 6 pm than in the afternoon. Whereas in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur it increases by 2.5 to 4.3 times. Between 7 and 8 in the morning, the level of nitrogen dioxide is at the same peak as in the evening. In Indore, the increased NO2 level in the evening remains elevated till midnight, due to increased movement of trucks here at night. PM 2.5 increases rapidly as winter approaches Except Singrauli, PM 2.5 is 30% less than the national average in most cities. However, it increases with the onset of winter and crosses 100 mgcm in all cities. In November 2021, the weekly average of PM-2.5 in Gwalior reached 202 mgcm, which is very high. It is reaching 191 in Singrauli, 141 in Katni, 129 in Bhopal, 124 in Jabalpur, 104 MGCM in Indore. CSE’s urban pollution expert Anumita Rai Choudhary says that there is an urgent need to run a multi-sector clean air program in the cities and industrial areas of MP-CG. NO2 levels dangerous in winter in Indore In Indore, the average level of NO2 is being recorded 83 mgcm in the month of November, which is quite dangerous. In Jabalpur it is 60 MGCM and in Gwalior 49 MGCM. It increases by 4.6 times in Gwalior and 4 times in Mandideep as compared to September-October.

CSE Report: महाराष्ट्र और गुजरात में बढ़ता प्रदूषण चिंताजनक, सीएसई ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में किया आगाह

सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) द्वारा क्षेत्रीय वायु प्रदूषण के स्तर के एक नए विश्लेषण के अनुसार, भौगोलिक लाभ और अनुकूल मौसम विज्ञान के बावजूद पश्चिमी राज्यों महाराष्ट्र और गुजरात में वायु प्रदूषण तेजी से चिंता का विषय बनता जा रहा है। सीएसई की कार्यकारी निदेशक (अनुसंधान) अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी ने कहा कि मुंबई में खराब-हवा के दिनों की संख्या 2019 और 2021 के बीच दोगुनी हो गई है, जबकि अच्छे दिनों में 20 प्रतिशत की कमी आई है। इस क्षेत्र में हालात और बिगड़ने से रोकने के लिए तुरंत कदम उठाए जाने की जरूरत है। विश्लेषण में दो राज्यों के 15 शहरों में फैले 56 निरंतर परिवेशी वायु गुणवत्ता निगरानी स्टेशनों (सीएएक्यूएमएस) को शामिल किया गया है। महाराष्ट्र में औरंगाबाद, कल्याण, नागपुर, नासिक और सोलापुर में एक-एक स्टेशन, चंद्रपुर में दो, नवी मुंबई में चार, पुणे में आठ और मुंबई में 21 स्टेशन। गुजरात में अंकलेश्वर, नंदेसरी, वापी और वटवा में एक-एक स्टेशन, गांधीनगर में चार और अहमदाबाद में आठ स्टेशन। सीएसई के अर्बन डेटा एनालिटिक्स लैब के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने बताया कि इन राज्यों के कुछ शहरों में कई रियल टाइम मॉनिटर हैं, लेकिन उनमें से कई पर डेटा अंतराल और गुणवत्ता डेटा की कमी के कारण दीर्घकालिक विश्लेषण के लिए विचार नहीं किया जा सकता है। इसके अलावा, कई मामलों में रियल टाइम मॉनिटर हाल ही में स्थापित किए गए हैं और इसलिए दीर्घकालिक डेटा उपलब्ध नहीं है। शोधकर्ताओं ने पाया कि इस क्षेत्र के लगभग सभी शहरों में 2020 में वार्षिक औसत पीएम 2.5 के स्तर में गिरावट देखी गई थी जिस वर्ष लॉकडाउन लागू किया गया था। लेकिन अब दोबारा पुरानी स्थिति दिखाई पड़ रही है। गुजरात में अधिक प्रदूषण गुजरात के शहर महाराष्ट्र की तुलना में अधिक प्रदूषित हैं। वटवा और अंकलेश्वर में इस क्षेत्र में सबसे प्रदूषित हवा है जिसमें 2021 का औसत पीएम 2.5, 67 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर है। इसके बाद वापी और अहमदाबाद में 2021 का वार्षिक औसत क्रमश: 54 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर और 53 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर है। वहीं महाराष्ट्र के औद्योगिक शहर चंद्रपुर ने 43 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति घन मीटर वार्षिक मानक से मामूली ऊपर का स्तर दर्ज किया है। अन्य स्टेशनों ने वार्षिक मानक को पूरा किया है, हालांकि ये सभी 2020 में गिरावट के बाद 2021 में बढ़ता रुझान दिखा रहे हैं।

Drop in Pollution Due to Pandemic Lockdown in 2020 Poised to Rebound; Levels in 2021 Already Rising

With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip induced by the challenging lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 will not persist. A new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. "This analysis of real-time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in the pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than in 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up the action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the study showed that the eastern states of India, i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha, are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution. As the winter smog engulfs North India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during winter inversion, and the excellent, calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. "Even though real-time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real-time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration from January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states. **

Air quality in four Bihar citiesback to pre-Cov levels: Report

Patna: Most cities in the state recorded a rising trend in annual particulate matter (PM)2.5 level in 2021 after the initial drop in air pollution level in 2020 due to Covid-induced lockdown, as per new analysis of regional pollution trends done by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The analysis, released on Monday, showed that Muzaffarpur’s annual average of PM2.5 had jumped from 74 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) in 2020 to 78 in 2021 while Patna’s annual average of PM2.5 rose to 75 in 2021 against 64 µg/m3 in 2020. The annual average of PM2.5 level in Hajipur was 60 µg/m3 and it was 49 µg/m3 in Gaya. The national limit is 40 micrograms while the World Health Organisation’s recently set annual standard for PM2.5 is 5 micrograms. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and trigger several diseases, including fatal ones like cancer. According to experts, Muzaffarpur needed reduction in annual average of PM2.5 levels by 49% to meet the clean air standard, Patna by 45%, Hajipur by 33% and Gaya by 18%. The report was made on the basis of real-time air pollution data generated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 13 stations in four cities of Bihar between 2019 and 2021 – six stations in Patna, three each in Muzaffarpur and Gaya and one in Hajipur. The only silver lining was that severely polluted days were not recorded in any of these four cities during 2021. However, share of “very poor” days was highest in Muzaffarpur at 93, followed 67 at Patna. The winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastward during late December and early January. The trend continues as the air quality index of Patna was recorded at 271 in ‘poor’ zone on Tuesday. Patna has registered 2.5 times increase in amount of nitrogen dioxide in air of all cities of eastern states during December compared to the previous months. In Patna and Kolkata, high NO2 levels persist till midnight. In absolute concentration term, Patna registered the highest monthly average of 51 ug/m3 in December. Patna and Howrah had the greatest pollution build-up on Diwali night, with a 3.3-fold increase in night-time PM2.5. The overall concentration of PM2.5/PM10 ratio in Bihar is higher during winter (November to January) when it hovers around 55%. Gaya has the highest PM2.5/PM10 ratio in all three seasons – summer, monsoon and winter with PM2.5 share as high as 73% in winter. Hajipur shows high percentage of PM2.5/PM10 ratio during monsoon at 51%.

2020 के लॉकडाउन के दौरान गिरे प्रदूषण के स्तर में फिर से उछाल आने का खतरा: CSE

इस वर्ष प्रदूषण के स्तर में वृद्धि के साथ, 2020 में महामारी के कठिन लॉकडाउन चरणों से प्रेरित गिरावट जारी नहीं रहेगी, सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) द्वारा किए गए क्षेत्रीय प्रदूषण प्रवृत्तियों के एक नए विश्लेषण से पता चला है। “2019-2021 की अवधि के लिए वास्तविक समय वायु गुणवत्ता डेटा के इस विश्लेषण से पता चलता है कि प्रदूषण में गिरावट जो 2020 में महामारी के कठिन लॉकडाउन चरणों से प्रेरित थी, 2021 में पहले से ही बढ़ रहे स्तरों के साथ वापस उछाल की धमकी दे रही है। लेकिन कई मामलों में, स्तर अभी भी 2019 से नीचे हैं। यह इस क्षेत्र में और अधिक बिगड़ने से रोकने और प्रवृत्ति को रोकने के लिए सभी क्षेत्रों में कार्रवाई को बढ़ाने की तात्कालिकता को रेखांकित करता है, ”अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी, कार्यकारी निदेशक, सीएसई में अनुसंधान और वकालत ने कहा। नतीजतन, भारत के पूर्वी राज्य यानी बिहार, पश्चिम बंगाल और ओडिशा – अब बढ़ते हुए वायु प्रदूषण का दंश महसूस कर रहे हैं, जैसा कि अध्ययन में दिखाया गया है। जैसा कि नवंबर की शुरुआत में उत्तर भारत को घेरने वाला शीतकालीन स्मॉग दिसंबर के अंत और जनवरी की शुरुआत में पूर्व की ओर बढ़ने लगता है, बिहार, पश्चिम बंगाल और ओडिशा ज्यादातर इस समय प्रभावित होते हैं जब सर्दियों का उलटा और ठंडी और शांत स्थिति स्थानीय प्रदूषण को फंसा लेती है जो पहले से ही है। उच्च। “भले ही इन राज्यों में वायु गुणवत्ता पर अधिक अद्यतित और वास्तविक समय की जानकारी प्रदान करने के लिए वास्तविक समय वायु गुणवत्ता निगरानी का विस्तार शुरू हो गया है, लेकिन लापता डेटा और अंतराल के बारे में गंभीर चिंताएं हैं जो उचित जोखिम मूल्यांकन को मुश्किल बनाती हैं। बिहार और ओडिशा के कुछ स्टेशनों में डेटा उपलब्धता इतनी कम है कि प्रवृत्ति का आकलन नहीं किया जा सकता है। डेटा का गुणवत्ता नियंत्रण आवश्यक है, ”अर्बन डेटा एनालिटिक्स लैब, सीएसई के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर अविकल सोमवंशी ने कहा। सीएसई द्वारा रीयल-टाइम प्रदूषण डेटा का यह नया विश्लेषण इसकी अर्बन डेटा एनालिटिक्स लैब की वायु गुणवत्ता ट्रैकर पहल का एक हिस्सा है, जिसका उद्देश्य विभिन्न क्षेत्रों में प्रदूषण की प्रवृत्ति और परिमाण को समझना है, जहां वास्तविक समय में वायु गुणवत्ता की निगरानी होती है। सिस्टम यह 1 जनवरी, 2019 से 4 जनवरी, 2022 की अवधि के लिए PM2.5 सांद्रता में वार्षिक और मौसमी रुझानों का आकलन है, जिसमें उपरोक्त तीन राज्यों के 12 शहरों में फैले 29 निरंतर परिवेशी वायु गुणवत्ता निगरानी स्टेशन (CAAQMS) शामिल हैं।

In a flux over smog towers

A walk of up to one km in three different directions from the smog tower in Connaught Place with a handheld air quality monitoring device has revealed fluctuating levels of the chief pollutant, PM 2.5. What is interesting is while the air closest to the tower should be cleanest, the device recorded the opposite in several instances — falling pollution levels as one moved away from the tower. The data was collected by this reporter on an air quality monitor of ‘Prana Air’ provided by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and was shared with three experts, who observed that multiple factors influence the air quality at the height where the readings were taken. While a detailed study factoring in all sources of pollution is required to arrive at the final conclusion, the experts were unanimous about increase in levels of pollution as one moves away from the tower in an ideal situation. A paradox Anju Goel, a Fellow at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), said the air closest to the tower should be the cleanest because it sucks in the dirty air from the top of the tower and releases filtered air near the surface through fans on the sides of the tower. Whereas the value of PM 2.5 decreased as you moved away from the tower, which is in contradiction to normal scenario. The readings indicate the efficiency of the smog tower is not enough to clean the air to the extent it is needed. At the height of 1.5 to two metres from the surface, it is a mixed zone with high turbulence. Your readings also fall under this category,” she responded. When approached, a Delhi government official held that multiple factors could be responsible for such variations and therefore, the data is not showing a clear trend of reduction in pollution with distance from the tower. This reporter walked towards RML Hospital, where the value of PM2.5 was 327.5 ug/m3 at 50 metres from the tower and 325 at 100 metres from the tower, but it dropped to 301 at 300 metres and raised slightly to 307 at 500 metres. Towards Connaught Place also a similar trend was observed, but towards Parliament House, there was a rise after the fall in values. The readings were taken on December 25, when the city’s air quality was ‘severe’. Multiple monitors A CEEW Fellow, Karthik Ganesan, said, multiple monitors should be ideally used to measure pollution at all points at the same time to get accurate results. “If at all the smog tower has an impact, then the pollution should increase as you move away from the tower. But the recorded values show a decrease. Which means that at different points along the road, there is an impact of different sources of pollution. This also shows that the impact of the smog tower is negated by all these sources,” Mr. Ganesan said. Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Centre for Science and Environment, a research and advocacy NGO, said focus has to be on reducing emissions at sources than attempting to purify dynamic and voluminous air in outdoor conditions. She wondered how tiny whiffs of purified air mixed with polluted air could help to improve the quality of air in general. “Instead of spending ₹40 crore on two towers, the government could have spent the funds on several other options such as replacing the small and polluting industrial boilers or the chulhas burning dirty fuel in poor households,” she said. Not viable The experts reiterated the smog towers are not a viable method to clean city’s air. The pilot project spending ₹20 crore was constructed following a Supreme Court order and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 23, who had promised then that data analysis would begin immediately and a detailed performance report would be obtained within two years after the performance is examined by experts. Also, he said the government would get monthly trends to analyse how efficiently the tower is working. Earlier, the government had talked about 80% pollution reduction at inlet and outlet of the tower but never mentioned about the effect of distance from the tower. On October 1, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that a committee constituted to look into the efficacy of smog tower would submit three reports to the government at the end of every three months. But the government is yet to release any data on what impact the smog tower has made on the quality of air when at a distance from the tower.

Following dip during lockdowns, rising trend of air pollutants: Centre for Science and Environment

The winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January After an initial drop in the PM2.5 levels during Covid-related lockdowns in 2020, the eastern states of Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha saw a rising trend in the air pollutants in 2021, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Monday. "It is January, and the eastern states of India - Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha -- are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution. Advertisement "The winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high," the environment think-tank said. The analysis found that nearly all cities in the region showed a drop in the annual average PM2.5 level in 2020, which was also the year with maximum lockdown phases. "But there is a rebound and a rising trend once again in 2021, though in several cases, the levels are lower than the 2019 level. Durgapur, a big industrial hub of West Bengal that is also designated as a critically polluted area by the CPCB, has the most polluted air in the region with a 2021 average at 80 ug/m3. This is followed by Muzaffarpur and Patna with the 2021 annual average of PM2.5 at 78 ug/m3 and 73 ug/m3 respectively," it said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the CSE, said the analysis of real-time air quality data for the 2019-2021 period shows the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 rising. "But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and arrest the trend in this region," she said. Another expert said there are serious concerns around the missing data and gaps that make proper risk assessment difficult. "Even though real-time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real-time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that make proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary," said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at the Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab. The objective of this new analysis is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. It covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the three states. In West Bengal, there are seven stations in Kolkata, three in Howrah and one each in Asansol, Siliguri, Durgapur and Haldia. In Bihar, there are six stations in Patna, three in Gaya, three in Muzaffarpur and one in Hajipur. In Odisha, there is one station each in Talcher and Brajrajnagar. Even though there are more real-time monitors in a few other cities of these states, those could not be considered due to data gaps and a lack of quality data, it said. "Moreover, in several cases, the real-time monitors have been set up recently and therefore, long-term data is not available. Several cities of Bihar got their real-time monitors between July and November 2021. There are two stations in Bhagalpur and one each in Bettiah, Bihar Sharif, Darbhanga, Motihari, Araria, Arrah, Buxar, Chhapra, Katihar, Kishanganj, Manguraha, Munger, Purnia, Rajgir, Saharsa, Sasaram and Siwan. "But due to the excessive amount of missing data from these stations, a meaningful analysis has not been possible. Hajipur in Bihar has data availability for over two years," it said. The CSE said in West Bengal, real-time monitors in Durgapur and Haldia became operational only near the end of 2020, which limits the possibility of doing long-term trend analysis for these cities. Odisha has very limited real-time monitoring. "Therefore, data is indicative of the current status of air quality and seasonal variation in particulate pollution in medium and smaller cities," it said. The analysis also found that the cities in these three states did not experience "severe" days in 2021 but the share of "poor" and "very poor" days was high. "During 2021, severely polluted days have not been noted in any city. Share of 'very poor' days was highest in Muzaffarpur at 93, followed by Durgapur at 71, Patna with 67 days and Howrah with 58 days. "Days with poor air quality were the highest in Durgapur at 71, followed by 67 in Patna, 53 in Kolkata and 51 in Howrah. These bad air quality days are concentrated during winter months," it said. It also said there was a significant increase in the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air in all the cities of these states in December, compared to the months of November, October and September. "Brajrajnagar (Odisha) registered a 3.6-time jump in the monthly NO2 level, Kolkata registered a 2.8-time increase, while Patna, Talcher (Odisha) and Asansol (WB) registered a 2.5-time increase. "In absolute concentration terms, Patna registered the highest monthly average of 51 g/m3 for December. It was followed by Kolkata (50 g/m3) and Talcher (44 g/m3). Muzaffarpur, Howrah and Hajipur showed an increase in the amount of NO2 in November as compared to December," the CSE said.

Kolkata air quality moves closer to pre-Covid level

Centre for Science and Environment analyses data generated by the central pollution control board The level of the most toxic air pollutant — PM 2.5 — in Calcutta’s air has inched closer to pre-Covid times after a lockdown-triggered low in 2020, shows an analysis by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The analysis, released on Monday, was carried out on the basis of real time air pollution data generated by the central pollution control board (CPCB) in seven stations across the city during the period of 2019 to 2021. ADVERTISEMENT The analysis found that the annual average of PM 2.5 pollution in Calcutta had jumped from 48 micrograms per cubic metre in 2020 to 56 micrograms in 2021. The city’s PM 2.5 level in 2019, before Covid, was 69 micrograms. The national limit is 40 micrograms while the World Health Organisation’s recently set annual standard for PM 2.5 is 5 micrograms. PM 2.5 is the tiniest particle that can enter the deep crevices in lungs and trigger several diseases, including fatal ones like cancer. Another air pollution analysis, independently carried out by Delhi-based Climate Trend also corroborates the same trend. Though the analysis — based on the National Clean Air Programme — indicated that the 2021 level has touched the 2019 level. CSE analysis shows that adjoining Howrah’s PM 2.5 pollution follows the similar trend with its 2021 annual average — 61 micrograms –— increased over 2020 average of 54 micrograms but still less than its the 2019 pollution level of 74 micrograms. “This analysis of real-time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the lockdown in 2020 is threatening to bounce back. The levels in 2021 are already rising,” Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of CSE told Metro. However, Roychowdhury pointed out that in Calcutta and elsewhere, the levels were still lower than 2019 which “underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend”. Clearly, the trend is continuing as this newspaper found that on Monday, the air quality indices in all the stations across the city ranged between poor and very poor and PM 2.5 was the responsible pollutant for the surge. “The winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December … mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high,” said the report. The CSE report pointed out that Calcutta had 53 “poor” air quality days in 2021. Kalyan Rudra, the chairman of state pollution control board, however, said: “We should not compare 2020 with any prior or after year. There was a lockdown and the PM 2.5 level in the city got significantly reduced.” “Through our analyses we are now understanding that the rise in PM 2.5 level in Calcutta during the winter is not exclusively because of local sources of air pollution. Calcutta and the rest of West Bengal, being at the tail end of the Indo-Gangetic plains, receives a huge pollution load from the northern part of the country during this period,” the chairman said.

Revising vacation, N95 masks for kids: Suggestions to panel on pollution control

Last month, the commission had invited suggestions from the public and experts on a "permanent solution for air pollution in Delhi-NCR." The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has constituted a group of experts which will examine suggestions it has received on curbing air pollution. Last month, the commission had invited suggestions from the public and experts on a “permanent solution for air pollution in Delhi-NCR.” This was done on the basis of a Supreme Court order which directed the CAQM to invite suggestions with the aim of finding a permanent solution. The commission had provided 14 days for submission of suggestions. The nine-member expert group will be headed by the chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board. The group includes Mukesh Sharma, professor at IIT-Kanpur; Sachin Ghude, scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology; Anumita Roychowdhury at the Centre for Science and Environment; and Prashant Gargava, Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board. The group will be required to examine the suggestions received, recommend measures for “formulating a permanent solution for the air pollution menace,” and suggest a “policy” to curb air pollution. It is required to submit its report within two months. Among those who sent suggestions is a group of parents of school-going children in the NCR. The communication sent by the parents to the CAQM earlier this week includes a suggestion to reorganise the school vacation. “The CAQM, in consultation with state governments, should evaluate reorganisation of annual school vacations such that the worst pollution period in Delhi-NCR is treated as school vacation. This will ensure that children do not suffer from learning loss on account of school closures,” the letter stated. The communication, signed by 110 parents, also suggests that specific scientifically proven measures be considered for schools, such as providing N95 masks to reduce exposure. Another set of suggestions was sent by the Clean Air Collective, a network of organisations and individuals across the country who work on air pollution issue. Suggestions include revising the Graded Response Action Plan before peak pollution season in 2022, using the Early Warning Forecasting System proactively to reduce emissions, strengthening agencies like the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, and making all buses in NCR districts run on CNG.

Dabur's latest regional ad compares honey to 24k gold

Dabur honey's latest telugu ad features a bride decked up in resplendent 24k jewelry and the comparison of the purity of the jewels is to the purity of the gold. In December 2021 (last year), Dabur had released another 'purity' themed ad for the International day of persons with disabilities. The ad says “achaai ki parakh sirf aakhon se nahi hoti”. It’s apt because the brand features a blind couple in its ad where the lady is preparing a delicious dessert and a dazzle of Dabur Honey is the icing on the cake. If you're wondering why the brand is stressing so much on the 'purity' factor of the product, there's a long history behind it. It first started in August 2020, with a seemingly innocuous ad for Saffola Honey. An ad made by 82.5 Communications, had a title which reads, "Saffola Honey - 100% Pure 100%". The YouTube description of the ad, however, caught our eye: "Every batch of Saffola Honey is tested using the most advanced NMR Test (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) in one of the best-in-class German laboratories to ensure that it is pure, free from any form of adulteration and with no added sugar." It was the first time such a scientific test was referenced in a category that otherwise stressed on wholesomeness, goodness and other more intangible values in its ads. This ad was published a month after Dabur had taken Saffola to court (in July 2020) over similarities in honey packaging. The ad made Dabur sit up and take notice. Shortly after on October 16 2020, an ad for Dabur Honey made by Havas Creative, took a dig at Marico’s Saffola Honey. The 40-second ad (which has been removed from the brand's YouTube channel), saw a man dissuade a lady from buying what appears to be a bottle of Dabur Honey but is, in fact, a lookalike. The second part of the ad talks about the NMR test and 60+ quality checks Dabur Honey undergoes which help to support the brand’s claim of being the world’s leading honey brand. However, neither brand could have been prepared for what came next. On December 2 2021, major honey brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, and Emami (Zandu Pure Honey) failed a purity test conducted by a German laboratory, as informed by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi-based public interest research and advocacy organisation. Out of the 13 honey brands that were tested, Marico’s Saffola honey was the only big brand to pass all the tests. As part of its investigation, the CSE selected 13 top and smaller brands of processed and raw honey being sold in India. It first tested the samples of these brands at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat – all brands passed the purity test except Apis Himalaya. CSE also said a few smaller brands failed the tests to detect C4 sugar – “call it basic adulteration using cane sugar.” Shortly after on 7 December, Dabur claimed that rival Marico’s Saffola Honey is adulterated and that it would be filing a complaint with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body of the advertising industry in India. A Dabur spokesperson said, “Saffola Honey sample from the market has failed the NMR test. Test reports clearly indicate presence of sugar syrup in Saffola honey. Their claim on NMR test is misleading the consumers.” “Dabur has cleared all the FSSAI-mandated tests, including SMR, besides voluntarily conducting NMR test periodically to ensure that our consumers get 100% Pure honey with no added sugar/syrups or any other adulterants,” remarked the spokesperson. On the other hand, a Marico spokesperson said that on 3 December 2020, the company had filed a complaint before ASCI wherein it challenged the claim made by ‘Dabur India Ltd.’ that “Dabur Honey has passed the German NMR test”. The FMCG major said the complaint has been admitted by ASCI and taken on record for further hearing. Also Read: Saffola Honey's new ad touts honey that is '100% pure' with purity certificate Marico's Saffola refused to stay quiet on this subject. On December 14 2021, the brand released an ad in which it claims that its honey also compliant with each of the quality parameters mandated by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). A press note claims that Saffola guarantees every batch of Saffola Honey is NMR tested (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance test), which is one of the most advanced tests in the world and is considered the gold-standard for detecting adulteration in honey.

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE

New Delhi: With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. “This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the eastern states of India i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha — are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution, the study showed. MS Education Academy As the winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. “Even though real time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states.

Following dip during lockdowns, rising trend of air pollutants in WB, Bihar, Odisha: CSE

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) After an initial drop in the PM2.5 levels during Covid-related lockdowns in 2020, the eastern states of Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha saw a rising trend in the air pollutants in 2021, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Monday. “It is January, and the eastern states of India — Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha — are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution. “The winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high,” the environment think-tank said. The analysis found that nearly all cities in the region showed a drop in the annual average PM2.5 level in 2020, which was also the year with maximum lockdown phases. “But there is a rebound and a rising trend once again in 2021, though in several cases, the levels are lower than the 2019 level. Durgapur, a big industrial hub of West Bengal that is also designated as a critically polluted area by the CPCB, has the most polluted air in the region with a 2021 average at 80 ug/m3. This is followed by Muzaffarpur and Patna with the 2021 annual average of PM2.5 at 78 ug/m3 and 73 ug/m3 respectively,” it said. VDO.AI Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the CSE, said the analysis of real-time air quality data for the 2019-2021 period shows the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 rising. “But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and arrest the trend in this region,” she said. Another expert said there are serious concerns around the missing data and gaps that make proper risk assessment difficult. “Even though real-time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real-time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that make proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at the Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab. The objective of this new analysis is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. It covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the three states. In West Bengal, there are seven stations in Kolkata, three in Howrah and one each in Asansol, Siliguri, Durgapur and Haldia. In Bihar, there are six stations in Patna, three in Gaya, three in Muzaffarpur and one in Hajipur. In Odisha, there is one station each in Talcher and Brajrajnagar. Even though there are more real-time monitors in a few other cities of these states, those could not be considered due to data gaps and a lack of quality data, it said. “Moreover, in several cases, the real-time monitors have been set up recently and therefore, long-term data is not available. Several cities of Bihar got their real-time monitors between July and November 2021. There are two stations in Bhagalpur and one each in Bettiah, Bihar Sharif, Darbhanga, Motihari, Araria, Arrah, Buxar, Chhapra, Katihar, Kishanganj, Manguraha, Munger, Purnia, Rajgir, Saharsa, Sasaram and Siwan. “But due to the excessive amount of missing data from these stations, a meaningful analysis has not been possible. Hajipur in Bihar has data availability for over two years,” it said. The CSE said in West Bengal, real-time monitors in Durgapur and Haldia became operational only near the end of 2020, which limits the possibility of doing long-term trend analysis for these cities. Odisha has very limited real-time monitoring. “Therefore, data is indicative of the current status of air quality and seasonal variation in particulate pollution in medium and smaller cities,” it said. The analysis also found that the cities in these three states did not experience “severe” days in 2021 but the share of “poor” and “very poor” days was high. “During 2021, severely polluted days have not been noted in any city. Share of ‘very poor’ days was highest in Muzaffarpur at 93, followed by Durgapur at 71, Patna with 67 days and Howrah with 58 days. “Days with poor air quality were the highest in Durgapur at 71, followed by 67 in Patna, 53 in Kolkata and 51 in Howrah. These bad air quality days are concentrated during winter months,” it said. It also said there was a significant increase in the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air in all the cities of these states in December, compared to the months of November, October and September. “Brajrajnagar (Odisha) registered a 3.6-time jump in the monthly NO2 level, Kolkata registered a 2.8-time increase, while Patna, Talcher (Odisha) and Asansol (WB) registered a 2.5-time increase. “In absolute concentration terms, Patna registered the highest monthly average of 51 µg/m3 for December. It was followed by Kolkata (50 µg/m3) and Talcher (44 µg/m3). Muzaffarpur, Howrah and Hajipur showed an increase in the amount of NO2 in November as compared to December,” the CSE said. PTI AG RC

Pollution levels that dipped during 2020 lockdown threaten to bounce back: CSE

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) With the levels of pollution rising this year, the downward dip, induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020, will not persist, a new analysis of regional pollution trends done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed. 'This analysis of real time air quality data for the period 2019-2021 shows that the downward dip in pollution that was induced by the hard lockdown phases of the pandemic in 2020 is threatening to bounce back with the levels in 2021 already rising. But in many cases, the levels are still lower than 2019. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region,' said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at CSE. As a result, the eastern states of India i.e. Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha -- are now feeling the sting of increased winter air pollution, the study showed. As the winter smog that engulfs north India during early November begins to extend eastwards during late December and early January, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha are affected mostly during this time when winter inversion and the cool and calm conditions trap the local pollution that is already high. 'Even though real time air quality monitoring has begun to expand in these states to provide more up to date and real time information on air quality, there are serious concerns around missing data and gaps that makes proper risk assessment difficult. In some stations of Bihar and Odisha, data availability is so low that the trend cannot be assessed. Quality control of data is necessary,' said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at Urban Data Analytics Lab, CSE. This new analysis of real-time pollution data by the CSE is a part of the air quality tracker initiative of its Urban Data Analytics Lab, whose objective is to understand the trend and magnitude of pollution in different regions that have real-time air quality monitoring systems. This is an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 4, 2022, which covers 29 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 12 cities in the above mentioned three states.