DTMT Network

A latest analysis by Delhi based Center for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed that Delhi and NCR cities lead the chart for the most ‘severe’ days in 2021.

“Ghaziabad topped the list, recording 108 days of ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ air quality until November. Delhi recorded 94 days with ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’ air quality this year until the end of November. Faridabad and Gurugram recorded 75 days and 73 days of ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ days, respectively,” the analysis found.

As per the CSE, UP cities outside NCR including Kanpur recorded 73 days of ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ levels; Lucknow had 68 days; and Agra, 57 days. They are not much behind Delhi-NCR.  Even in larger Haryana, a small city like Hisar has recorded 74 days of ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ air quality in 2021 so far.

However, if all the months and seasons (from January to November) are considered for the year 2021, the 24-hour standard for PM2.5 has been met in most cities in the region for more than half of the year (recorded mostly during monsoon and summer).

Cities in the arid regions of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab have -- on an average -- recorded lesser days with good air quality compared to cities in the plains of UP. Chandigarh and Punjab cities have the most numbers of satisfactory and good air quality days.

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, “This analysis has put a spotlight on the cities of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and NCR to understand the synchronised pattern of pollution during winter when atmospheric changes entrap pollution across the region. This shows even smaller cities with lower annual average levels, record pollution levels that are as bad or even worse than Delhi. This demands action at scale and speed across all key sectors of pollution in the larger region.”

 “This analysis has covered 137 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 56 cities in the six states. Even though air quality monitoring is limited and data for a large part of the northern India is underreported, available evidence clearly points to the magnitude of the regional problem,” says Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE.   

This analysis, a part of the air quality tracker initiative of the Urban Data Analytics Lab of CSE, is based on real-time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations in north India.