Mumbai: Dense fog blanketed the city for the third consecutive day, with the air quality index (AQI) reading rising to 309 on Tuesday, classified as “very poor”. According to the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) network of monitoring stations, an AQI level between 200 and 300 is considered “poor” and above 300 is considered “very poor”. At 300 on Monday, AQI levels touched “bad” levels. Of the nine SAFAR monitoring stations, six classified air quality in this category. Morning temperatures – 23.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal – also added to the discomfort.
The wind speed, measured at 7 kmph, prompted former NEERI director Rakesh Kumar to remark that while the average wind speed is 5-10 kmph, clearing the current haze would require a wind speed of 12 kmph. While environmentalists continued to attribute the poor level of air quality to a combination of meteorological factors are:-
• the lack of sea breeze over land and the inability of low wind speeds to disperse pollutants
• anthropogenic activities such as the continued construction of various infrastructure projects
• vehicle emissions and road dust suppression
•the expert section called for the need to implement an emergency response system in accordance with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) located in Delhi.
Last month, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) communicated with city corporations to prepare for such a possibility. “The Center has approved a clean air program for the state. We have sent a letter to all municipal corporations to take action under GRAP if the AQI is bad and they must act,” said V M Motghare, Joint Director, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
Avick Sil, director of the Enviro Policy Research Institute, called for an audit of the status of the GRAP that Maharashtra proposed. “Otherwise it will end up like the Chitale committee report on Mithi river where nothing concrete has been done and we keep talking about the river every monsoon,” Sil said. “We cannot stop construction because people will lose their jobs overnight. Are smog towers working in Delhi today? We have to look for sustainable solutions.”
This is clearly a far cry from the reality – Mumbai suffers with the air quality index ranging from ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ in various parts, but the state government is yet to come up with effective measures to curb the problem. The state does not even have a full-time environment minister. However, state environment department principal secretary Pravin Darade insisted that authorities are constantly monitoring air quality.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is in charge of the environment and climate change department, but his office is yet to meet on the issue, even as the situation in Mumbai is becoming alarming. Former state environment minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “The problem of air pollution depends on technical reasons. We need to see what is causing this. The government has to decide on this based on the SOS. There is absolutely no official word from the government – they don’t even acknowledge it as a problem.”
by: Vaishali verma
