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Home >  Environment>>  The air we breathe in Mumbai

       

                                           

 According to WHO, Mumbai is next to Kolkata and Delhi as one of the top ten most polluted cities in the world  In India, the urban agglomerations are restricted to a selected few cities, which have attracted migration. Mumbai being the trade and commercial capital of India, has been the destination for all types of population groups such as literates, illiterates; skilled and unskilled; and persons from all walks of life. The population of Mumbai grew by 38 per cent during 1971-81 and, 20 per cent during 1981-91 to reach 10 million. Currently, the Mumbai’s population is standing at 18 million making it one of the most populous metropolises in the world. With this increase in population there has been an increase in number of vehicles and industrial activities aggravating of air pollution levels. With this growing peril of air pollution there is a serious threat to the health of its citizens (WorldBank).   

Mumbai city
  Mumbai is located on India’s west coast and consists  of a peninsula originally composed of  seven islets. Drainage and reclamation have  caused the islets to join and form the present – day Bombay (Mumbai) Island, with the Arabian Sea to the west, and Bombay harbour and the inlet of Thane creek to the east. Aside from being India’s financial and commercial centre, Mumbai is also the most industrialized Indian city.
  Mumbai is now the second largest coastal city in the world and India's premier port. The new Mumbai, located close to the largest chemical industry zone in Asia, is exposed to high levels of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals released by these industries.

 There are approximately 40,000 small and big industries in the city, of which 32 have been classified as hazardous. Industries in the air-polluting category include textile mills, chemical, pharmaceutical, engineering and foundry units. Process emissions and those from fuel consumption, constitute the main sources of air pollution. Major air pollution sources include a giant fertilizer/chemical complex; two oil refineries and a thermal power plant, all based in CHEMBUR, a suburb on the eastern coast of Bombay (World Bank).
  The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGB) monitors the air quality within the city limits; MCGB has measured ambient air quality regularly at 22 monitoring stations in Mumbai for over 15 years. These monitoring stations measured the air pollutant levels according to who prescribed guidelines and methods. 
   These mobile monitoring vans operated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal 
Corporation's Air Quality Monitoring and Research (AQMR) laboratory are 
stationed at traffic junctions at Worli, Andheri and Wadala. 
  In January 2008, Andheri touched 542 microgrammes per cubic metre 
(µg/m3). In Feb 2007 and Feb 2006, the figures for the same monthly 
average were 534 µg/m3 and 489 µg/m3 respectively.  
  In February 2008, Wadala's SPM levels were 425 µg/m3. That is an 
alarming rise from 178 µg/m3 in February 2007 and 312 µg/m3 in Feb ruary  2006. 
  In March 2008, Wadala recorded 303 µg/m3 levels of SPM, the 
corresponding figures for the month of March 2007 and March 2006 in the 
same area were 258 µg/m3 and 300 µg/m3. 
  "Rise in SPM over the years has increased asthma prevalence in the city as it's an important triggering factor," says Dr Pramod Niphadkar, honorary secretary of the Asthma and Bronchitis Association of India. 
"People don't give much attention to the pollution, but... though there 
are very few mortalities due to air pollution, morbidity is of great concern," he added. 
  According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), SPM is among the most serious air pollutants, resulting in an additional 4.6 lakh deaths every year, worldwide. Reiterating WHO's data, a senior scientific officer at AQMR admits: "SPM is a major pollutant in Mumbai's air, followed by 
nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide." 
  Scientists at AQMR also point out a new entrant in the family of particulate matter - sand used to set loose interlocking tiles across the city's pavements. "Every time a car passes, the dry sand that's left over blows along for miles," the AQMR officer says. In Mumbai, pollution from road and building construction is second only to vehicular pollution. 
  Overall, Mumbai's highest SPM levels are at Maravali, near Chembur, 
because of the industrial estates in that area. In Deonar, a fixed monitor 
ing station of the AQMR measured the highest levels of SPM this February - an alarming 1,133 µg/m3, owing to the proximity of the city's biggest  dumping ground. Today, SPM in ambient air in Mumbai is anywhere between 545 µg/m3 to 292 µg/m3, not complying with the central pollution control board. Permissible levels, according to the AQMR, are 140 µg/m3 in residential areas and 360 µg/m3 in industrial areas. 
  "General asthma levels in the city are anywhere between three to five per cent whereas in polluted areas, that increases to 10 per cent," says Dr Amita Athavale, head of (EPRC) at KEM Hospital. She says while SPM doesn't directly cause asthma it causes increased incidence of asthmatic attacks among those already suffering from the disease and triggers chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among those prone to respiratory ailments. There are cases of pulmonary fibrosis where lungs lose elasticity permanently, reducing the capacity to take in air. "In  pulmonary fibrosis, pollution works as one of the significant triggers. In the Seventies, we saw pulmonary fibrosis cases once every year, now  we are seeing one fresh case every week," says Dr Niphadkar.    

  
 
 Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, is home to the largest slum in Asia and almost half of the city's  inhabitants are slum-dwellers. 

    
 The location of the Mumbai airport too makes it vulnerable to smog. It is not only situated well within the precincts of the city, but is also flanked by the industrial area near Kurla.   
   With pollution levels rising in the city, visibility in the sky during the morning hours has become a major challenge for the air traffic control (ATC). At a conference on World Environment Day, ATC officials said they get the best visibility on Mondays. 

     
  Mumbai imports and transports a lot of oil products. The refineries and depots have been identified as areas that cause substantial oil pollution.  
  Domestic wastes are discharged mostly in untreated condition due to the lack of treatment facilities. There are only available facilities for 390 million litres per day (MLD) as against the 1,200 MLD of domestic sewage that is generated. 
  Exceptionally high concentrations of lead, cadmium, and mercury have been observed in Thane creeks on the Mumbai Coast.

 The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is setting up 46 air quality monitoring stations in the state as part of its campaign against air and water pollution. The programme, covering 27 urban centres, is called Pollution Assessment Monitoring and Surveillance (PAMS) and is aimed at helping MPCB take stringent steps while dealing with cases of water and air pollution, an MPCB official said. 
  MPCB operates 62 such stations. The proposed air quality monitoring centres would come up at Kalyan- Dombivali and Bhiwandi in Thane district, Mahad and Roha in Konkan region, Latur in Marathwada and 
at Solapur, Sangli-Miraj and Ahmednagar.         

  Mumbai still has a very high incidence of chronic respiratory problems, arising from extreme air pollution. The causes of pollution are mainly industries in the eastern suburbs and New Bombay, garbage burning by the BMC, and insufficient control over emission levels from vehicles.
  Mumbai generates about 23,000 tonnes of e-waste every year, but disposal has been very disorganised so far,” said Sanjay Khandare, member secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Three years ago Mumbai generated only 11,000 tonnes of e-waste. It now generates the most E-waste in the country.

 
 

  
 Increasing emission levels from vehicles in Mumbai. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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