CHENNAI: Chennai’s air quality improved in 2020 compared to the previous year. The city fared slightly better than its neighboring metros in southern India, according to a report by Greenpeace India.
Going by the Central Pollution Control Board data for both the years, the NGO has found that the PM 2.5 in Chennai in November this year was 34.11 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre) compared to 54.65 μg/m3 in 2019.
However, Manali remains the worst polluted area of Chennai with an average of 48 μg/m3.
On the brighter side, Chennai’s air quality was better than Hyderabad and is on par with Bengaluru.
The average concentration of PM2.5 this November in Hyderabad was 56.32μg/m3 -- much higher than Chennai, while in Bengaluru, the average concentration of PM2.5 this November recorded was 33.49μg/m3 as compared to 40.33μg/m3 in November 2019.
According to an online tool developed by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, air pollution from PM2.5 and No2 were responsible for 7,577, 6,228, and 6,374 premature deaths in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai respectively, from 1st Jan to Sept 4 this year.
Climate campaigner at Greenpeace India, Avinash Chanchal said, "apart from industries, vehicular pollution continues to be a major source of pollution in these cities."
“Expansion of the city area and population, along with growth in economic activities in the peri-urban areas, has resulted in high vehicle ownership rates. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to introspect and ask - how should our development trajectory be,” he said.
He pointed out that it’s high time the governments and local authorities adopt systemic reforms on clean energy and transport that includes promotion of decentralized model of renewable energy, generation of green jobs, measures taken to promote electric vehicles and rebuilding trust in public transport.
“If we don’t act, these cities will follow the fate of the top polluting cities in terms of health and economic impact,” he said.