air pollution

The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards are the primary custodians for preventing and controlling all forms of pollution in our country. Despite their significant role in environmental protection, the public is mostly unaware of the functions of these regulatory bodies, due to insufficient research. Therefore, we at Citizen consumer & civic Action Group (CAG) have attempted to understand the functions of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), through a study titled ‘The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in Retrospect: An Examination of Selected Parameters from 2017 to 2022.’ Read more: Fisherfolk lament as environmental…

October 2023 was a shocker for Mumbai. The coastal city has historically recorded lower AQI levels as compared to Delhi, which is notorious for its poor air quality. But the tables turned in October 2023, with AQI in Mumbai reaching dangerously high levels of up to 300, surpassing Delhi for several days. This led to a slew of respiratory ailments, more so among the vulnerable populations. PM2.5 levels have, in fact, seen a consistent increase in Mumbai over the past three years. Dr Jui Mandke, a paediatric surgeon practising in Mumbai, says, “In October 2023, we encountered the maximum number…

This is the first of a two part story looking at how women workers in the construction industry are disproportionately affected by air pollution and other work place related issues. Women workers in the construction sector, the second largest employer of women after agriculture, are disproportionately affected by issues like air pollution. Not only at their work place but also at their homes. Many women construction workers suffer from illnesses like breathlessness but delay treatment due to the lack of options before them. “There have been no studies carried out about the health impact of construction activities on the workers,”…

First electric bus unveiled Bengaluru’s first electric bus, nine-metre-long and non-AC, was unveiled by Transport Minister B Sriramulu. The bus can run 120 km on a single charge, and carry 33 passengers. The BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) had got the e-bus built by the Uttar Pradesh-based JBM Auto Limited.  This is the first of 90 electric buses to be inducted by BMTC by December. Each bus will cost Rs 90 lakh, of which about Rs 60 lakh is contributed by grants from the Smart Cities Mission. Over the next three years, the fleet might expand to 500. The first…

72% COVID patients have new variants About 71.7% of 1,018 patients in the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) and Bengaluru Urban district limits had the latest variants of SARS-CoV-2. Out of the 2,774 samples received for genomic sequencing, 1,738 were processed. This includes 525 patients with the Delta variant, 116 with Kappa, 88 with Alpha, and one with Delta Plus. In all, 730 patients have the new variants. A member of the state genomic surveillance committee said that the BBMP should be acting on the data. Quick tracing is crucial. It is important to check if patients with the Delta…

The usually quiet police station of Kumbalgodu, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru enroute to Mysuru, saw some unusual activity a few weeks ago.  A group of about 50 residents of the neighbourhood had landed up to file a complaint.  Residents at the Kumbalgodu Police Station, March 2021. Pic: Nikhil Tiwari The trigger was a major fire that had broken out on the banks of the nearby Vrishabhavathi river and which had spread dangerously close to their homes. This was just the most recent in a series of fires that have been noticed on the river's banks over the past…

Up to two million school children in Bengaluru are exposed to dangerous air pollution during their school day, risking asthma, allergic rhinitis and other chronic health impacts, according to a report produced by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). The report was released by Healthy Air Coalition, Bengaluru, last week. Healthy Air Coalition brings together various stakeholders such as health researchers, heart and lung doctors, and public health institutes and patients to collaborate on air monitoring initiatives, share information about air pollution and health, build the capacity of health professionals, and provide insights…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Situated on the banks of river Ganga, Varanasi, India’s holiest city and the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came into limelight in 2015, when Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data highlighted that the city didn’t have even a single good air quality day that year. In fact, Varanasi is among the 43 critically polluted zones across the country. Not just air, its water quality is equally pathetic. Pollution indices in Varanasi have only got worse with time. In…

On the night of November 24th, a fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill site in the capital, burning for over 24 hours till it could be brought under control and choking an already severely polluted city. As citizens coughed and struggled to breathe, we called Dr Ajay Nagpure, Head, Air Quality and Sustainable Urbanisation, World Resources Institute Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities, and this is what he said: “The air pollution caused by gases emitted from the landfill affects the birth weight of children born to those residing in the vicinity of the landfill. Even child mortality will be very…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Climate change is not a new phenomena for the Himalayan State of Uttarakhand. In fact, the Indian Himalayan Region, comprising all the mountain states/UTs of India, has been at the forefront of climate change. Increased human activities, like unplanned construction, rampant tourism, increased waste generation, unsustainable transportation and more are resulting in rapid deterioration of the Himalayan landscape. The ambitious 900 km Char Dham all-weather highway project is the new addition to this list.  The “Char Dham project is…