New pollution mapping to help TN breathe better
CHENNAI: While presenting the budget, Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had announced that the government would establish India’s first Integrated Environmental Monitoring Studio to forecast air quality. It will also be equipped with an early warning system.
If established, it will drastically increase the quality of life for many. The interface will help public access real-time air quality data that provides actionable insights. This would be particularly useful to those suffering from respiratory issues as they will be able to decide which parts of the city to avoid visiting for outdoor activities.
Hurdles to cross
To build such an interface, however, a dense network of spatially distributed air quality monitors are required to identify pollution hotspots.
Currently, the State does not have enough monitors, despite its being one of the most industrialised States. In Delhi, there are about 40 government monitors and a large number of private low-cost monitors. In all, Delhi gets data from about 400 points. In comparison, Chennai has fewer than ten continuous ambient-air-quality monitors.
Acknowledging the problem, Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu told Express that the proposed Integrated Environmental Monitoring Studio at Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will address this problem.
“As part of the project, we will map pollution hotspots across the State, identify data gaps, set-up a dense network of air-quality monitors in all the districts with industrial clusters, and issue Terms of Reference for a system integrator to build an interface for real-time monitoring, she said.
Major benefits
A report titled “Building Breathable and Healthy Cities” by a consortium of research groups led by Healthy Energy Initiative analysed what cities should do to protect public health from air pollution.
“For an urban region, the city planners could start with setting up low-cost PM2.5 monitors to document and relay real time air quality in each zone. The monitors will help in tracking the source of air pollution and the real-time data will help take prompt action to curb the local source whenever air quality deteriorates,” report said.
The trends can help identify the times in the day when pollution is at its peak. Based on this, health-based advisories and decisions can be taken to protect the vulnerable. School timings can be adjusted and advise can be given to those with diabetes and heart or lung diseases, the report adds.
Non-compliance a problem
Shweta Narayanan, an activist and the lead author of “Building Breathable and Healthy Cities”, told Express that though this State government is receptive, poor enforcement of environmental laws will be a major problem going forward.
Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan city in the country and the only city with three mega seaports, associated movement of heavy diesel vehicles, 3,300 MW of coal thermal plants, a ten-million-tonne-per-annum oil refinery, high urban vehicular traffic, and two large garbage dumps.
“Air pollution is one of the top challenges for the city administration, but non-compliance and non-enforcements have failed all the mitigation measures. A 2021 study that analysed emissions from industries in Ennore industrial cluster in Chennai showed that power plants are non-compliant to emission norms for over 53 per cent of the time.
Similarly, unchecked incineration of garbage and other material, vehicular pollution from old and unfit vehicles, and pollution from construction sites are all sources of pollution that can be controlled at source,” Sheweta Narayanan said.
TNPCB chairman AV Venkatachalam told Express that plans are afloat for a dynamic real-time monitoring and early warning system.
400
Sources give Delhi the data it needs. In comparison, Chennai has fewer than ten continuous ambient-air-quality monitors