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Journalism of Courage
Three days from November 19 to 21 saw Pune’s air quality deteriorating with the dominant pollutant being Particulate Matter (PM 10) as per the Central Pollution Control Board data. In fact almost half the month has already recorded “moderate” air quality, with high PM 10 emissions, as per data.
With scientists and experts warning that air pollution has steadily tightened its grip on the city and the number of ‘good’ air days have reduced over the years, a pressing question emerges: are the “moderate” air days even truly safe anymore?
Pune has seen an increasing number of moderate (56 to 120 days) poor (12 to 28 days) and very poor (1 to 4 days) category days as observed after 2021, according to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) scientists. “This indicates that Pune city’s air quality is beginning to deteriorate as compared to earlier years,” a scientist said.
Data suggests a decline in air quality over a decade in Pune. “The annual air quality data for Pune from 2014- 2023 indicates the number of days categorised by air quality levels. In general the percentage of `good’ air quality days has decreased from 80 per cent in 2014 to 61 per cent in 2023,” IITM scientists told The Indian Express.
Dr Gufran Beig, founder project director of System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) also observed that Pune’s air quality has steadily worsened over the past decade, declining by roughly 10%.
“The city’s moderate altitude offers some relief, but transport remains the largest pollution source, responsible for over 45% of emissions. Rapidly growing vehicle numbers, construction, and metro projects add dust and PM10, while congested traffic and poorly maintained vehicles intensify pollution at junctions. Diesel-heavy commercial vehicles and industrial emissions further contribute to the problem,” Dr Beig explained.
Experts with Pune’s Air Action Hub, a collective of citizens, organisations, medical practitioners and academicians working for better air quality in Pune said that while there may be some comfort in avoiding the “poor” and “very poor” categories, the seemingly harmless labels of `satisfactory’ and `moderate’ also hide a deeper threat. They point out that health impacts of polluted air do not wait for extreme Air Quality Index (AQI) levels.
“It is important that people don’t get false assurances from the word ‘moderate’. Health impacts begin at lower levels of pollution,” Shweta Vernekar, member of the Pune Air Action Hub told The Indian Express.
“’Moderate’ may not seem alarming or very serious and it is good to see that we have hardly any days under the poor and very poor category. However, it is important to note that the impact of air pollution is not symmetrical to the rise in AQI or pollutant concentrations,” Vernekar added.
The team did a trend analysis of the air quality in the city . “With moderate-category days rising year after year, people who are ‘most vulnerable’ are breathing air that harms them long before the numbers look alarming. Even within the so-called safer zones, children, senior citizens and those with respiratory issues face real risks, as prolonged exposure quietly chips away at their well-being,” Vernekar added.
An analysis by AtlasAQ, an air quality data platform developed by Respirer Living Sciences, that operates a network of over 3,500 air quality monitoring devices across the country and internationally, finds that winter months struggle with elevated pollution levels. Experts from Respirer Living Sciences said that winter remains the most challenging season for air quality in Pune.
Finer (PM2.5) and coarser (PM10) particulate matter both show strong seasonal patterns, with clean-air days concentrated in the monsoon and pollution peaking in winter.
According to data, December, January and February consistently show the highest concentration of moderately polluted and poor-quality days.
However experts also pointed out that in the last three years, there have been good-quality days and lowest pollution readings from June to September. This period typically sees 20-31 consecutive days with good quality PM 2.5 levels as per the data analysed.
According to an Emission Inventory for Pune District that was developed under Clean Air Project in India (CAP India) by the Environment Research Laboratory of the Automotive Research Association of India and submitted to Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in September 2022, the baseline emissions of air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NOx, CO, and non-methane volatile organic compounds) loads originate from twelve different sectors in Pune district.
These are transport, dust, open waste burning, residential, industries, diesel generators, hotels, restaurants and bakeries (HRB), crematoria, agricultural residue burning, aircraft and construction. Major PM10 sources in Pune district include road dust (34%), construction and allied activities (23%), industries (10%), and transport (10%) whereas PM2.5 emissions are primarily dominated by transport (19%), road dust and industry (18% each) and agricultural waste burning (13%), as per the inventory.
“However, an important criterion to gauge impact is exposure to air pollution. The adverse impacts of air pollution begin at lower levels, even in the so called satisfactory and moderate category of our standards. So when our children and other vulnerable sections are exposed to more of these polluted air days, their health is compromised, many a times irreparably,” Vernekar also pointed out.
Dr Beig also observed that even if overall air quality stabilizes, extreme weather events, for instance slower winds during La Nina or dust storms from the coast, can spike pollution.
“Current measures by authorities are not enough,” he said and stressed an air-shed approach at city and district levels, implemented through coordinated multi-agency action, as the most effective way to protect public health
