HYDERABAD: While India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 to reduce particulate concentrations by 20-30% by 2024, the rural areas have not been monitored yet, and air pollution remains a significant problem in these areas.
An analysis by Climate Trends, a research-based consulting and capacity-building organisation focussed on environment and climate change, shows that the PM2.5 levels between 2017 and 2022, in both urban and rural regions in many Indian States including Telangana are the same and remain higher than safe limits.
While the State-level rural PM2.5 concentration dipped by 17.5% from 2017 to 2022, the urban PM2.5 concentration declined by 17.3%. Besides, about 10 States including Telangana saw an upward trajectory in urban and rural regions since the pandemic in 2020.
The study thus pointed out that while the NCAP is focused on cities, it is evident that air pollution is not limited to geographical boundaries.The analysis also highlighted the value of satellite data in tracking air pollution trends. Satellite-derived PM2.5 levels provided comprehensive insights into both rural and urban areas, enabling a better understanding of pollution patterns and their sources.
While the CPCB safe limits of 40 µg/m3 in Telangana, the State-level rural PM2.5 concentration (in ug/m3) from 2017 to 2022 was recorded at 48.8, 46.0, 41.9, 38.3, 40.6, 40.2 while in the urban region, the PM 2.5 levels were at 48.8, 46.0, 42.1, 38.5, 40.7, 40.4 for the six consecutive years.
Experts highlighted that high PM2.5 in rural areas is not surprising as a large fraction of the population still relies on solid fuel for domestic use like cooking, heating and lighting. Household sources are found to be the largest contributor to ambient PM2.5 in the State.
Decades of research have shown that air pollution increases the amount and seriousness of lung and heart disease and other health problems. Long-term exposure to polluted air can have permanent health effects such as accelerated ageing of the lungs, loss of lung capacity and decreased lung function, and development of other diseases such as stroke, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, pneumonia, and cataract.