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Pune’s PM10 pollution surges beyond safety limits despite seasonal variation: Report

When contacted, Pune Municipal Corporation's environment department officer Mangesh Dighe said he was not aware of the report

The report identifies rapid construction, road dust, vehicular congestion, and growing urban sprawl as key contributors to PM10 (Express Photo)

An analysis of Pune’s air quality by Respirer Living Sciences, a climate-tech startup based on four years of data from the AtlasAQ platform, shows that PM10 concentrations in the city have consistently breached the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limit of 60 µg/m³—even during summer months when pollution is expected to ease.

Particulate Matter (PM10) pollution refers to airborne particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate deep into the respiratory system, leading to severe health issues, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and premature mortality. The AtlasAQ platform was developed to enable validated long-term air quality trend analysis of Indian cities which have the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) network.

According to the report released on Monday, Pune city has shown high seasonal variability, but no sustained improvement across any of the four years. Pune’s citywide PM10 levels spiked from 70.9 µg/m³ in 2021 to 98.9 µg/m³ in 2022, and remained high at 95.9 µg/m³ in 2023, before slightly declining to 86.8 µg/m³ in 2024.

“While this drop may seem encouraging, none of these values meet the NAAQS benchmark, indicating that air quality remains unsafe throughout the year,” Ronak Sutaria, Founder and CEO of Respirer Living Sciences told The Indian Express.

“The narrative around Pune often assumes it’s a clean city—but the data doesn’t support that,” Sutaria said adding that even our so-called ‘clean seasons’ are not actually clean. “PM10 pollution here is ‘unpredictable, persistent, and well above safe limits,” he added.

As per the analysis by Respirer Living Sciences, station-level data reveals extreme intra-year fluctuations. Karve Road showed a dramatic 177.6% rise from 50.0 µg/m³ in 2021 to 138.9 µg/m³ in 2022. Alandi also recorded a spike to 127.3 µg/m³ in 2023 before dropping to 89.0 µg/m³ in 2024. Locations like Transport Nagar, Bhosari, Mhada Colony, and Revenue Colony consistently reported annual averages above 80 µg/m³, while not a single station recorded levels below the national threshold.

The report identifies rapid construction, road dust, vehicular congestion, and growing urban sprawl as key contributors to PM10. It recommends the enforcement of dust control protocols, greater investment in sustainable mobility, and real-time ward-level monitoring to enable more targeted action.

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When contacted, Pune Municipal Corporation’s environment department officer Mangesh Dighe said he was not aware of the report.

However, multiple strategies are being taken to spray droplets and settle dust particles to improve air quality levels. “Recently the civic administration introduced the fog cannon machine mounted vehicle to deploy along busy roads to reduce road dust and air pollution,” he said. The fog cannon carrying 6,000 litres of water uses a high-pressure pump to spray water droplets and settle dust particles.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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