India’s PM2.5 Pollution Drops By 19% Between 2017 and 2022: Analysis

According to a recent research, PM2.5 pollution in both urban and rural India decreased by almost 19% between 2017 and 2022.

With a 38% decrease in PM2.5 pollution in both urban and rural areas during the same time span, Uttar Pradesh is in first place. Using satellite data from IIT Delhi, a research by the non-governmental environmental think tank Climate Trends found that Maharashtra had the least reduction in PM2.5 pollution nationwide.

PM2.5, which are tiny, inhalable particles with an average diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, provide the biggest health danger. PM2.5 levels must not exceed 40 micrograms per cubic meter annually.

Rural India’s PM 2.5 concentrations in 2022 were 46.8 micrograms per cubic meter, a 19.1% decrease from 2017. Urban India’s PM 2.5 concentrations in 2022 were 46.4 micrograms per cubic meter, a decrease of 18.7% from 2017.

According to the research, the annual average PM 2.5 levels were greatest in rural and urban India in 2017 (57.4 and 57.6 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively) and lowest in 2020 (45.5 and 45.6 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively).

Over the last six years, the annual average PM 2.5 levels in both urban and rural areas of most states have followed a similar pattern. PM 2.5 levels decreased more in the rural areas. For instance, in the same time, the PM 2.5 levels in Karnataka’s rural areas decreased by 18.1% while those in the state’s cities decreased by 16.2%.

The levels of PM 2.5 in West Bengal’s cities and rural areas both decreased by 14.9% and 15.6%, respectively. The investigation revealed that the concentration of PM2.5 is high in both urban and rural regions, highlighting the necessity for the National Clean Air Programme’s (NCAP) next phase to include rural areas.

NCAP is a nationwide plan to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by 20 to 30 percent by 2024, using 2017 as the baseline year. The initiative involves 131 non-attainment cities that failed to reach the required benchmarks for national ambient air quality for five years in a row (2011-2015). By 2026, the Center’s new goal is to reduce particulate matter concentration in the cities covered by NCAP by 40%.

The analysis shows that the states in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Bihar, have seen a significant dip in PM 2.5 pollution, indicating that the focus of the air pollution fight continues to remain in the region, according to Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends, a research-based initiative focusing on environment and climate issues.

The report reveals that Western states like Gujarat and Maharashtra have made little progress and have experienced a major increase in air pollution in recent years. The investigation found that the nation had PM2.5 reductions ranging from 5% to 38%. Between 2017 and 2022, PM 2.5 levels in urban and rural areas of UP decreased by 37.8% and 38.1%, respectively.

Only 7.7% and 9.5% of Maharashtra’s PM 2.5 pollution in urban and rural regions decreased, respectively. ones that are using NCAP have a greater decline as compared to ones that are not.

“The data also shows that rural areas have similar levels of air pollution. The findings support the need for airshed management while also emphasizing hyper-local pollution since they demonstrate that benefits are spread throughout a whole area or airshed. The first NCAP deadline of 2024 is quickly approaching, and in the program’s following stage, activities must expand outside of cities, Khosla stated.

According to S N Tripathi from IIT-Kanpur and Steering Committee Member for NCAP at the Union Environment Ministry, a decrease in PM2.5 levels of more than 10% over the course of time should be viewed favorably. “However, anything less than 10% in the previous six years needs to be evaluated,” the statement said.

“This analysis is a reiteration that air pollution is not a problem of cities alone; the rural population is as much affected,” stated Arun Sharma, Director, ICMR-NIRCMD, Jodhpur. Based on local circumstances, prevention and mitigation strategies should be developed. Documenting health impacts is just as crucial as documenting exposure.