Pollution

Days come and days go. And as I write this, we are on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, commemorated by the UN annually on September 7th. What this observance wants to achieve is of course pretty transparent and specific from the name itself. Sadly though, in our cities in particular, we seem to be quite far from that goal. Clean air is a luxury, blue skies a rare treat. This year’s observance comes close on the heels of the latest Air Quality Life Index report from the Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago (EPIC), which says…

You travel on a road in Chennai. You notice smoke from other vehicles and a mound of unsegregated solid waste on the side of the road. Maybe you are in a hurry to reach your destination, and you may not process these scenes. But next time, take in those sights. They are polluting Chennai's soil with heavy metals. Heavy metals are those metals that have greater atomic weight in the periodic table of elements. Moreover, in higher quantities, these metals can become toxic. Examples of heavy metals include Lead, Cadmium and Mercury. Soil pollution due to heavy metals studied in…

Before Chennai became the bustling metropolis that it is today, bright, artifical light was limited to a few sources. Street lights, name boards of shops and festive lighting were not as widespread. One could actually see stars in the night sky, an act almost impossible these days. Light pollution has not captured the attention of the masses but continues to grow as an issue that could affect human, animal and plant life in cities. We look at what light pollution means and some of the causes and effects of it across Chennai. Light pollution and its components Light pollution refers…

If you have felt like Chennai's streets are turning increasingly cacophonous lately, the belief may not be unfounded. The city has been ranked the noisiest city among seven metros - Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, and Kolkata by the pollution watchdog, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India in their Annual Report 2020-21. Despite this, there is little attention paid to the problem of noise pollution in Chennai. "Noise pollution does not get the same attention as air pollution or water pollution," said Prabhakaran Veerarasu, an environmental engineer with the environmental collective Poovulagin Nanbargal. "This is because the impact…

With catastrophic rains and severe drought having become a recurrent feature in the recent history of the city, it is time to take climate change and its effects seriously. Chennai needs a comprehensive climate action plan for a holistic approach to preparedness and mitigation. Cities like Mumbai taking the lead show the need for climate action now. While a state-level action plan has been prepared, what actions specific to Chennai could help combat the effects of climate change? Citizen Matters hosted a tweet chat with experts to understand what a climate action plan for Chennai could look like and what must…

In 2022, as many as 132 cities that are currently implementing clean air action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), will have only two years left to meet the 2024 target of 20-30% cut in annual average particulate pollution from 2017 levels. While these generic targets are common for all cities, the city-wise target for meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for both particulate matter of size less than 10 micron and 2.5 micron (PM10 and PM2.5) are significantly tighter for some. Especially those in the Indo Gangetic Plain, where the reduction needed is 50-60% or more.…

It is that time of the year in when winter smog sets in and air pollution spikes in Delhi. Delayed withdrawal of rains and consequent deferment of stubble burning this year had made October one of the cleanest in the last few years. But the onset of winter conditions – cool and calm wind, temperature inversion, rapidly increasing farm fires and overall trapping of regional pollution – has created conditions that may trigger the season’s first smog episode soon.   The SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) programme of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology had already predicted…

Muthulakshmi S, a resident of Kattukuppam village in the Ennore Industrial Cluster spends a good share of her family income on doctors' fees and medicines. “My kids suffer from severe cold and cough infections every two months. The doctor says that it is common among those living here,” says 27-year-old Muthulakshmi, whose kids are seven and three-and-a-half years old.  Her husband is a fisherman who brings home a few hundred rupees on some days, but nothing on many others. Muthulakshmi is not alone, however. Her trials and tribulations reflect those of many women in Ennore, and much of that can…

Nitrogen dioxide or NO2 pollution in Chennai is back to pre-pandemic levels, shows a recent report by the non-governmental environmental organization, Greenpeace India. In fact, among all the cities studied by the researchers, Chennai recorded the second highest spike over a year as lockdown conditions were relaxed.  Greenpeace studied NO2 levels in eight Indian cities using measurements made by the Tropomi sensor on Sentinel-5P satellite. The satellite observations of April 2020 and 2021 revealed a 125% spike in NO2 levels in Delhi followed by 94% in Chennai. This not only increases the vulnerability of citizens to respiratory and circulatory issues, but…

The fresh, glistening, almost seemingly transparent prawns caught from Ennore was once a prime delicacy for seafood lovers in the city. But that is merely the stuff of memories now. In place of the succulent prawns of the past, one can only find dark, fatty prawns that no longer feed as much on worms as on the fly ash deposited by the thermal power stations in the waters of Ennore. “Prawns caught from the rivers of Palaverkadu and Kosasthalaiyar saw huge demand, both locally and internationally. Ash-coloured prawns (Sambal era in Tamil) form the majority of the catch now and…