Jharia is the 'most polluted city in India'

The coal-belching town of Jharia in Jharkhand continues to be the most polluted city in India, while New Delhi has made a marginal improvement in reducing its air pollution level, according to a Greenpeace India report.

New Delhi is the 10th most polluted city in India. The city was at eighth spot a year ago.

Average annual levels of PM10 - particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter that can enter the lungs and even the bloodstream - in Jharia was 322 micrograms per cubic metre in 2018, more than six times the safe limits of 0-60, according to the report.

Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, known for its rich coal reserves and industries, is the second-most polluted city, according to the report based on the analysis of PM10 data from 287 cities.

Annual average of PM10 levels in New Delhi reduced from 240 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017 to 225 in 2018.

Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted followed by Meghalaya’s Dawki, according to the report.

Six of the top 10 polluted cities are in Uttar Pradesh - Noida, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Allahabad, Moradabad and Firozabad.

The report also said 231 of the 287 cities recorded PM10 levels above 60 micrograms per cubic metre on at least 52 days in 2018.

The Central Pollution Control Board has identified 0-60 g/m3 as the safe limit for PM10 levels under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

“For NAAQS, pollution data for 104 days covering all seasons is collected. It is done to maintain uniformity in data collection,” said Dipankar Saha, former head of the CPCB’s air quality lab.

In 2015, the environment ministry identified 102 cities as “non-attainment” cities (which do not meet NAAQS) under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) that aims for a 20-30 per cent reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024, said Avinash Chanchal, one of the two authors of the report.

Ideally, all these 231 cities are non-attainment cities and should be included in NCAP, he said.

“Based on 2018 data, West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha have 36, 21, 21, 20 and 15 non-attainment cities respectively,” the report said.

The report also said pollution levels across much of the country are so high that even a 30 per cent reduction will still leave levels above NAAQS.

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