HYDERABAD: In a major development, the World Air Quality Report 2021 by IQAir, has found Hyderabad to be one of the most polluted areas in India seeing a concerning rise in particulate matter (PM 2.5) levels from 34.7 ug/m3 in 2020 to 39.4 ug/m3 in 2021. The report has analysed 6,475 cities in 117 countries. Hyderabad is the fourth-worst polluted city in India right after Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
While not mentioning specifically what is leading to rising particulate pollution in Hyderabad, the report overall suggests India’s rising vehicular pollution issue as the culprit. It notes, “It is estimated that 20% to 35% of total urban PM2.5 concentrations is directly or indirectly due to internal combustion engines in motor vehicles. Annual vehicle sales in India are expected to increase, with an estimated fleet number reaching 10.5 million in 2030.”
This can be directly seen as one of the leading factors for pollution in Hyderabad as a recent State Transport Department data stipulated vehicles in Telangana to be at a staggering 1.45 crore of which 60 lakh were in Hyderabad itself. Shockingly, 90% of these are personal vehicles. Meanwhile, the TSRTC has removed nearly 800 buses from its operations in the GHMC limits owing to lack of funding from government.
Nalgonda, S’reddy no better
In fact, this pollution issue is not limited to Hyderabad. A recent answer tabled in the Lok Sabha on March 21 found that four areas in Telangana have been categorised as Non-Attainment Cities (NCAs) under the National Clean Air Programme by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The districts of Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Patancheru, Sangareddy come under this categorisation.
Cities are declared non-attainment if over a five-year period, they consistently do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM 10.
In 2019-2,0 Hyderabad’s average PM 10 was 86 points which increased to 88 in 2020-21. In the same way Nalgonda’s average concentration increased from 59 to 60.
Choking city