Environment

The unprecedented crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic and the multiple lockdowns has had a debilitating impact on every institution and agency in the city. Wildlife facilities in Chennai are no exception. With tourism being restricted, zoos and other facilities sheltering animals found themselves facing a serious fund crunch to the extent that it became difficult for them to even maintain their regular activities. Wildlife facilities in Chennai are home to a number of threatened and endangered species too, that require special care. While the institutions maintain that conservation activities have not suffered due to the pandemic, some of them have…

For the fourth year in a row, air quality across Chennai City has been consistently poor, said researchers at Healthy Energy Initiative (India). On average, 24-hour samples collected from 20 locations across Chennai City in February-March 2021 exceeded the Indian 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 of 60 µg/m3 by 1.1 to 3.8 times. This study analysed the 24-hr air samples heavy metals in addition to for PM2.5. Locations sampled for the study included neighbourhoods that are industrial, commercial and residential in nature. The results of the study indicate that there is a need for the Chennai Corporation…

It's snake time of the year! Flower pots, piles of garden leaves, rubble heaps and discarded pipes are a few of the places where snakes feel safe. During the rainy season, they leave their often water-logged hideouts to get some warmth in the sun, which is why we're more likely to see them in our urban habitats at this time. We often see the staff of Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) working in areas where snakes are known to be found, and this was something that had been bothering us for a while. Whether sweeping the streets, or clearing the weeds…

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…

NatConnect Foundation aims to protect and conserve the environment in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Citizen Matters spoke to NatConnet director B N Kumar, who is also a media veteran.  What are major environmental issues facing Mumbai's coastal areas. How will these impact Mumbai’s biodiversity? For long, authorities have been unconcerned and apathetic about Mumbai's ecology. It has become customary and almost an annual event for the people to suffer floods and city shutdown. But the deluge of 2006, somehow, made people realise that the destruction of mangroves has also contributed to the disaster. Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the ever-extending and…

How do you know if a tree in your neighbourhood is ‘Ok’! Though trees can drop several hints when they are not ‘feeling fine’, one may have to keenly look at them to understand their condition. The residents of Chennai are doing just that as they participate in a city-wide tree survey, initiated by Nizhal, an NGO that focuses on tree conservation in the city. The initiative aims at making an inventory of trees in the city through local tree surveys that can indicate the extent of  tree diversity in the city and the status of tree health. A tree survey…

On Sunday mornings, various groups of citizens are seen cleaning up water bodies in different parts of Mumbai city. Recently, a new initiative to clean up the Bandra Talao (Swami Vivekananda Talao, Bandra) has been started by a group of residents, who believe that rather than complaining to authorities, they should step forward and help to keep their surroundings clean and plastic-free. A walk at Bandra Talao led to the start of this social initiative by Gauri Kulkarni (26), an architect and a Bandra resident. The #ChakaChakBandraTalav (pond) initiative was started after Kulkarni clicked photos of garbage dumped at the…

A new report from Greenpeace India reveals that a year after initial nationwide lockdowns due to Covid-19, NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide ) pollution has increased in all eight most populous state capitals studied highlighting worsening air quality. Among Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Lucknow, Delhi saw the most dramatic increase between April 2020 and April 2021. Chennai stood at second position with an increase of 94% between April 2020 and April 2021. NO2 in Chennai NO2 is a dangerous air pollutant that is released when fuel is burned, as in most motor vehicles, power generation, and industrial processes.…

As cities use up more resources, produce more and consumption spirals upward, there is a concomitant increase in solid waste generation. While this solid waste is comprised of both biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable waste (plastic, rubber, aluminum, glass etc.), the latter is what is most damaging to the environment. Most of the non-biodegradable waste ends up in landfills, open dumps and the natural environment, such as drains, rivers, lakes and the oceans. The iconic Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad presents a perfect example of an urban water body impacted by an increase in the flow of floating solid waste from…