Nagpur Breathed Unsafe Air Half The Summer: CREA Reports

 Nagpur:  Nagpur choked on toxic air for half the summer, beating both Mumbai and Pune to become one of the most polluted cities in Maharashtra, as PM10 levels breached national safety standards on 46 days from March to May, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) stated on Tuesday. An analysis of data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found that out of 92 days of monitoring between March and May, PM10 levels in Nagpur breached the annual benchmark of 60 µg/m³ (microgram per cubic meter) on 46 days - exactly half the summer, CREA said.

PM10 stands for inhalable airborne particles that are 10 micrometres or less in diameter - small enough to be drawn into the respiratory tract. The permissible limit for PM10 is 60 µg/m³ annually and 100 µg/m³ daily.

In a striking contrast, Maharashtra's largest metros - Mumbai and Pune - crossed the same PM10 threshold on just five to six days during the same period.

According to CREA, Nagpur emerged as the second most polluted in the state in May and the fifth in April.

The average PM10 concentration recorded in May was around 100 µg/m³, making it the second most polluted May for Nagpur in the last eight years; in 2022, the city recorded an average PM10 level of 140 µg/m³ that month.

CREA analysis also found that two of Nagpur's four continuous air quality monitoring stations at GPO Civil Lines and Mahal consistently recorded PM10 concentrations above safe limits during the summer months.

Nagpur, which is among 130 non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), had earlier recorded elevated pollution levels in winter, with PM2.5 concentrations peaking in January and February.

In November last year, the city was ranked the second most polluted in the state after Sangli, CREA stated.

"While winter conditions trap pollutants close to the ground, summer brings a different challenge, with coarse particulate matter (PM10) remaining consistently elevated. The city's emission inventory and source apportionment studies identify road dust and industrial emissions, including thermal power plants, as the dominant contributors to PM10," said Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA.

He, however, noted that these are year-round sources that do not disappear with the change in season.

Kumar pointed out that Nagpur has substantial industrial activity, including coal-fired thermal power plants, and its emission inventory identifies industrial sources as the largest emitter of particulate matter.

Leena Buddhe, the founder and director of the Nagpur-based Centre for Sustainable Development, said superficial beautification projects cannot clear the air.

"Civic bodies must immediately enforce strict dust-suppressing laws and mandate specialised filtration upgrades across high-emission public spaces like crematoriums. Long-term mitigation will require a rapid transition to public electric transit, localised multi-agency accountability, and expanded green buffer zones to naturalise particulate trapping across residential areas," she said.

She further said that according to the latest data, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has utilised only 46 per cent of the total funds allocated under NCAP.