BATHINDA: Even as the country’ air pollution mitigation action is hugely concentrated in cities and often ignores the rural parts, the analysis show PM 2.5 levels in the rural and urban regions across India are not very different and have witnessed a similar trend of decline over the last few years, reveals the new report by Climate Trends ‘Status of Urban and Rural air quality exposure at a national scale: A comparative analysis’. The analysis, however, reveals that air pollution continues to be a significant problem affecting both rural and urban populations.
Climate Trends is a research-based consulting initiative aiming to bring greater focus on issues of environment, climate change and sustainable development.
According to the analysis, PM 2.5 levels continue to be higher than safe limits in most states. Rural regions saw PM 2.5 levels decline by 19.1% and urban regions recorded an 18.7% dip in PM 2.5 levels between 2017 and 2022.
To bring focus on the possible impacts of air pollution on the country’s rural population, it used Dr Sagnik Dey’s PM 2.5 SAANS data (satellite data) and the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) data for urban and rural classification to analyse the air pollution levels across states between 2017 and 2022.
The analysis also showed that with a reduction of 37.8% and 38.1% in urban and rural PM 2.5 levels, respectively, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the best progress from 2017 to 2022. Maharashtra was the worst performing state, with only a dip of 7.7% in its urban PM 2.5 levels, while with a decrease of 8.2% in its rural PM 2.5 levels, Gujarat made the least progress. The Union Territories (UTs) of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, too, made little progress, with approximately a 4-7% decrease in PM 2.5 from 2017 to 2022. With urban PM 2.5 levels up by 0.3%, Chandigarh was the only union territory or state to see an increase.
The analysis also highlights the value of satellite data in tracking the air pollution problem in the country. While satellite data has some limitations since it is retrieved from aerosol optical depth (AOD) and not the direct PM2.5 monitoring, this 1km x 1km data set provides a holistic spread across the country, which the expensive ground-based monitoring network of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) stations currently do not cover.
Since rural areas in India are largely excluded from the air quality monitoring programme, the CAAQMS data supplied to validate the satellite-derived data results in a more homogenised outlook between the urban and rural air pollution levels. However, the data is widely published in scientific journals and can give us a starting point to highlight the need for a better rural monitoring network and for air pollution mitigation efforts to extend beyond the cities.
India had launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 to reduce particulate concentrations by 20-30% by 2024. The programme involves comprehensive planning to reduce ambient air pollution within specific time frames. However, rural areas have not been monitored yet, and air pollution remains a significant problem in these areas.
The two monitoring networks, CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations) and NAMP (National Air Pollution Monitoring Programme) are growing with CAAQMS currently having 400 monitoring stations, while NAMP has over 800 networks in various places or cities.
A study has suggested that India needs more than 4,000 monitoring stations to capture spatial variability. Since ground monitoring is inadequate and expensive to expand, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), along with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has been exploring other hybrid approaches to address the gaps in air quality monitoring.
Aarti Khosla, Director Climate Trends “The analysis reflects the progress being made under the National Clean Air Programme with most states and union territories seeing a dip in their PM 2.5 levels over the last few years. When divided into NCAP and non-NCAP states, we see a more significant dip in states where NCAP is being implemented.
The analysis also highlights that rural air pollution levels aren’t far behind. The results show that gains come across an entire region or air shed, making a stronger case for air shed management whilst also focusing on hyper-local pollution, on the other hand. The first NCAP deadline of 2024 is close and action must move beyond cities in the programme’s next phase.”
Climate Trends is a research-based consulting initiative aiming to bring greater focus on issues of environment, climate change and sustainable development.
According to the analysis, PM 2.5 levels continue to be higher than safe limits in most states. Rural regions saw PM 2.5 levels decline by 19.1% and urban regions recorded an 18.7% dip in PM 2.5 levels between 2017 and 2022.
To bring focus on the possible impacts of air pollution on the country’s rural population, it used Dr Sagnik Dey’s PM 2.5 SAANS data (satellite data) and the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) data for urban and rural classification to analyse the air pollution levels across states between 2017 and 2022.
The analysis also showed that with a reduction of 37.8% and 38.1% in urban and rural PM 2.5 levels, respectively, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the best progress from 2017 to 2022. Maharashtra was the worst performing state, with only a dip of 7.7% in its urban PM 2.5 levels, while with a decrease of 8.2% in its rural PM 2.5 levels, Gujarat made the least progress. The Union Territories (UTs) of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, too, made little progress, with approximately a 4-7% decrease in PM 2.5 from 2017 to 2022. With urban PM 2.5 levels up by 0.3%, Chandigarh was the only union territory or state to see an increase.
The analysis also highlights the value of satellite data in tracking the air pollution problem in the country. While satellite data has some limitations since it is retrieved from aerosol optical depth (AOD) and not the direct PM2.5 monitoring, this 1km x 1km data set provides a holistic spread across the country, which the expensive ground-based monitoring network of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) stations currently do not cover.
Since rural areas in India are largely excluded from the air quality monitoring programme, the CAAQMS data supplied to validate the satellite-derived data results in a more homogenised outlook between the urban and rural air pollution levels. However, the data is widely published in scientific journals and can give us a starting point to highlight the need for a better rural monitoring network and for air pollution mitigation efforts to extend beyond the cities.
India had launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 to reduce particulate concentrations by 20-30% by 2024. The programme involves comprehensive planning to reduce ambient air pollution within specific time frames. However, rural areas have not been monitored yet, and air pollution remains a significant problem in these areas.
The two monitoring networks, CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations) and NAMP (National Air Pollution Monitoring Programme) are growing with CAAQMS currently having 400 monitoring stations, while NAMP has over 800 networks in various places or cities.
A study has suggested that India needs more than 4,000 monitoring stations to capture spatial variability. Since ground monitoring is inadequate and expensive to expand, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), along with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has been exploring other hybrid approaches to address the gaps in air quality monitoring.
Aarti Khosla, Director Climate Trends “The analysis reflects the progress being made under the National Clean Air Programme with most states and union territories seeing a dip in their PM 2.5 levels over the last few years. When divided into NCAP and non-NCAP states, we see a more significant dip in states where NCAP is being implemented.
The analysis also highlights that rural air pollution levels aren’t far behind. The results show that gains come across an entire region or air shed, making a stronger case for air shed management whilst also focusing on hyper-local pollution, on the other hand. The first NCAP deadline of 2024 is close and action must move beyond cities in the programme’s next phase.”
