Not just Chennai, Thoothukudi and Madurai too breathe unhealthy air

The latest to point out the toxic air we live in is a report titled Airpocalypse II by Greenpeace India. The assessment of air pollution in Indian cities has found that eight out of ten of the cities/towns where air quality monitoring was done by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) were not complying with the board’s PM10 standard of 60 µg/m³. 

In Tamil Nadu too, three out of seven cities and towns had higher concentrations of PM10. The report accounted the monthly average PM10 data for 2016 from 23 ambient air quality monitoring stations across seven cities and towns of Tamil Nadu. According to the report, “The data indicates that three out of seven cities had higher concentrations of PM10 than the annual average levels prescribed by CPCB (60 µg/m³). The pollution level seems to be consistent between 2015 and 2016 with little variations on upside for Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Mettur and Thoothukudi along with slight decrease for Cuddalore and Salem.”

The report also pointed out that real time data is available for only 190 million Indians, or 16 per cent of the population, indicating the absence of an efficient air quality monitoring system. 

Shweta Narayanan, a member of Healthy Energy Initiative – India, which recently started a citizen-led initiative for real-time air quality monitoring, reiterated the importance of reliable data. “We need the 24x7 information for all days. We cannot have data that is evened out on monthly averages. We also need an action plan to tackle air pollution, one that enforces statutory conditions and compliance on industries. On paper, there are strict guidelines for compliance conditions – for instance, fly ash should not be dumped in open spaces – but on the ground, the reality is different. We need an efficient network, manpower to ensure compliance, penalise violators and a time bound plan drafted in collaboration with the local communities,” said the activist. Air pollution should be viewed from the lens of public health, as it has an impact on human health, say experts. For instance, PM2.5 pollution related diseases caused 1.1 million premature deaths in India in 2015. 

Pulmonologist Dr Hisamuddin Papa, whose Huma Lung Foundation has helped install five low-cost air quality monitoring devices, said, “First, we need to create awareness about air pollution, which has existed in Chennai for quite some time now. PM 2.5, with its toxic chemicals, are inhaled by everyone – from new-born babies to geriatric persons. Over a period of time, this will affect the lungs and the heart and eventually, every part of the body, causing asthma and bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To tackle this, awareness has to be created – this should be a part of the school curriculum, so everybody knows that there is a problem and it needs to be solved together, as a society.”