- Pollution hotspots within Jaipur: Mansarovar is a hotspot for PM10 and ground-level ozone pollution in the city. PM2.5 pollution is worst in Police Commissionerate,while NO2 is prevalent in Adarsh Nagar. Police Commissionerate also reported the most CO exceedances this summer. Pollution hotspots within Jodhpur: Jhalamand is a hotspot for PM10 in Jodhpur, while Collectorate is for PM2.5, NO2 and CO pollutions. Samrat Ashok Udhyan reported the most ground-level ozone exceedances this summer. Pollution hotspots within Kota: Dhanmandi is the hotspot for PM10 and NO2 in Kota. Shrinath Puram is where PM2.5 is most prevalent, while Nayapura has reported the most ground-level ozone and CO exceedances this summer. The way forward
- What is Particulate Matter? Particles are defined by their diameter for air quality regulatory purposes. Those with a diameter of 10 microns or less (PM10) are inhalable into the lungs and can induce adverse health effects. Fine particulate matter is defined as particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5). PM2.5 is more likely to travel into and deposit on the surface of the deeper parts of the lung, while PM10 is more likely to deposit on the surfaces of the larger airways of the upper region of the lung, causing health problems. Non-Attainment Cities Non-attainment cities are those that have fallen short of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for over five years.
P Srinivasan I [email protected]
Many cities of Rajasthan exceed the standards for particulate pollution that is PM10 and PM2.5. Jodhpur is the most polluted among the five non-attainment cities, with three-year average for PM2.5 of 71 microgramme per cubic metre (µg/m3) and for PM10 of 153 µg/m3. Kota is the second most polluted with a three-year average for PM2.5 of 55 µg/m3 and for PM10 of 105 µg/m3. Jaipur is a close third with a three-year average for PM2.5 of 52 µg/m3 and for PM10 of 114 µg/m3. Cities of Rajasthan are experiencing rising particulate pollution and also witnessing a multi-pollutant crisis with levels of several gaseous pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone beginning to rise. This increases public health risk in the state. This has emerged from a new analysis carried out by New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Urban Lab. The analysis stated that Udaipur and Alwar also exceed the standard — their three-year average for PM2.5 stands at 50 µg/m3 and 42 µg/m3, respectively. PM2.5 reduction targets vary between 4 per cent and 43 per cent for these non-attainment cities Reduction targets for PM10 are much higher, ranging between 30 and 61 per cent.
“Air quality is worsening not only in non-attainment cities but also in smaller cities and towns of Rajasthan despite the clean air action underway. Time-bound improvement in air quality requires state-wide action to improve systems and infrastructure in all the key sectors of pollution including industry, vehicles and transport, clean energy, management of waste streams, construction and greening. Allocate resources equitably for the priority measures in key sectors with a strong compliance framework to meet the clean air targets,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE.
This analysis is of real-time data from monitoring stations in Rajasthan for the period January 1, 2019- May 31, 2023.
NO2 pollution is on the rise in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur — 2022 levels have crossed the pre-pandemic level: Even though the NO2 levels are lower than the national ambient air quality standards in cities of Rajasthan, the cities are witnessing a rising trend. NO2 levels are worsening in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. The level has been 24-51 per cent higher than what was recorded in 2019 in these three cities. It has been exceptionally challenging in Jaipur in 2022 when the NO2 level breached the annual standard. Alwar and Kota show a stable trend. This pollutant requires early and preventive action as growing motorisation can skew the curve.
Smaller cities and towns are showing high PM and NO2 pollution as well: 24 smaller cities and towns of Rajasthan have started to monitor their air quality for the first time earlier in the year. Analysis of their data from the summer reveals that several of them can have seasonal levels even higher than the non-attainment cities.
During the same period, Sri Ganganagar recorded PM2.5 level of 64 µg/m3 and PM10 level of 258 µg/m3, which is almost twice that of the worst performing non-attainment cities. Hanumangarh, Bhiwadi, Chittorgarh, Bharatpur and Dholpur also had higher PM2.5 levels than all the non-attainment cities. NO2 levels were also high in several small cities with Sri Ganganagar, Bhiwadi and Dausa being the worst performers. These cities and towns will require a careful assessment of annual trends in the future.
Summer of 2023 has witnessed ground-level ozone and CO exceedances in non-attainment and smaller towns — smaller towns more affected: This summer season (March-May 2023) Jodhpur has been the most affected by gaseous pollutants among non-attainment cities, with 28 exceedance days for ground-level ozone and seven for CO. Kota has been the second worst hit with 19 exceedance days for ground-level ozone and 16 for CO.
Smaller cities and towns have fared much worse than the non-attainment cities. Jhunjhunu registered 84 exceedance days for ground-level ozone, the worst in the state. Banswara, Chittorgarh, Churu and Barmer registered more than 50 exceedance days for ground-level ozone. Dausa has been worst affected by CO pollution with 64 exceedance days.
NO2 pollution is closely linked with traffic flow: Diurnal tides of NO2 concentration in all the non-attainment cities (Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Alwar and Udaipur) follow the traffic flow pattern with peak concentrations aligning with traffic rush hours. There are two peaks in NO2 concentrations during a typical day: the first happens between 7am and 9am and the second between 7pm and 9pm. The evening peak is higher in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur, while the morning peak is higher in Alwar. This indicates the impact of motorisation.
Ground-level ozone is emerging as a challenge in non-attainment cities that needs more robust monitoring to assess the risk. Ground-level ozone, which is highly toxic and can harm even during short duration exposure, requires monitoring to assess its build-up in local situations across the landscape. As of 2022, only one monitoring station each existed in Alwar, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur and three in Jaipur. On several days in a year, ground-level ozone has started to exceed the 8-hour average standard for ozone in all the non-attainment cities, with Jaipur being the most affected. It may be noted that ozone is not directly emitted by any source. A range of gases including NO2, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and others that are emitted from vehicles and industries react with each other in the air under the influence of sunlight to form ozone. This is a highly reactive gas and extremely harmful for those suffering from asthma and respiratory conditions. To control it, all other gases will have to be controlled.
Carbon monoxide (CO) pollution is also a concern as it is a very toxic gas and is emitted almost entirely by vehicles, especially petrol vehicles. There was only one monitoring station each in Alwar, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur and three in Jaipur till 2022. Instances of exceedance in CO have been more frequent, with Jaipur being the worst affected.
Pollution during winter season is a challenge in all non-attainment cities; summer is not clean either in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota: Poor air quality days start in a synchronised pattern across the non-attainment cities of Rajasthan during the month of November. The intensity of pollution is higher in Jaipur and Kota. The air quality in Alwar and Udaipur improves from poor to moderate categories in spring but in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota it continues to remain bad through the summer. Monsoon is the only period when air quality turns good among the non-attainment cities.
Experts Opinion:
Both PM10 and PM2.5 is on the rise in the non-attainment cities, gaseous pollutants including NO2, ozone and CO are also beginning to record a rising trend. This can lead to a multi-pollutant crisis in the state. This requires widespread aggressive measures to reduce particulate pollution, but also early preventive action to control gaseous emissions from the sources, says Roychowdhury.
The continuing elevated pollution levels among city stations highlight the systemic pollution that persists in the region due to inadequate infrastructure and systems for pollution control across all sectors. This can only be addressed through stringent and uniform action, round-the-year, to meet clean air standards,” says Avikal Somvanshi, senior programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE.
Plan for massive clean energy transition in industry, transport, power plants, and households
Initiate state-wide action to scale up electrification of vehicles, and promote usage of public transport, walking and cycling.
Work towards developing a circular economy across the state to collect segregated waste, recover material from all streams of waste for recycling, and remediation of legacy waste to eliminate burning of waste and dust particles.
