Haryana Cities Among India’s Most Polluted

• 05 Jul 2024

Why in News?

According to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Haryana accounted for more than half of India's top 10 most polluted cities in June 2024.

Key Points

• Rohtak was the most polluted among the 251 Indian cities included in the study.
  • In June, Rohtak's average concentration of PM2.5 (tiny inhalable particles) was 116µg/m³, more than twice the safe level of 60µg/m³ set in India.
• In the top 10 most polluted cities in June, Rohtak was featured in the list 28 times, followed by Charkhi Dadri and Panchkula, each appearing 16 times, Ballabhgarh 11 times, and Faridabad 10 times.
• A total of 60 cities appeared on the daily most polluted cities list. Among these, 23 cities made the list at least five times. Only Faridabad is part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• According to the 2021 Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the University of Chicago, India is the world's second most polluted country, where fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) shortens the average citizen's life expectancy by 5.3 years.

Particulate Matter

• Also called particle pollution, a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. It causes respiratory problems and also reduces visibility.
• It includes:
  • PM10: inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller.
  • PM2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
• Sources of PM:
  • Some are emitted directly from a source, such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires.

National Clean Air Programme

• It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019.
• It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target.
• It seeks to cut the concentration of coarse (particulate matter (PM) of diameter 10 micrometer or less, or PM10) and fine particles (particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micrometer or less, or PM2.5) by at least 20% in the next five years, with 2017 as the base year for comparison.
• It covers 132 non-attainment cities which were identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).