Nitrogen dioxide levels above permissible limits in Mumbai, 90 other cities
04 Aug 2010
Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Jharia, Howrah, Kolkata and Asansol showed high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration in the atmosphere while 91 other cities and towns in the country were found to have exceeded the permissible limits in respect of particulate matter of size less than 10 micro metre (RSPM) in the atmosphere, air quality data for 2009 showed.
However, the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2) have remained within the permissible levels in all these cities, minister of state (independent charge) for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The pollution control boards of the centre and the states monitor the ambient air quality across the country under the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme.
The annual average concentrations of NO2 in micrograms per cubic meter (in µg/m3) in the various metro cities in 2009 were: Howrah 81, Asansol 62, Kolkata 56, Delhi 49, Jamshedpur 49, Raipur 46, Mumbai 42, Navi Mumbai 42 and Jharia 41.
Cities with high levels (µg/m3) of particulate matter (RSPM) in the atmosphere in 2009 were: Jharia 261, Ludhiana 254, Khanna 249, Delhi 243, Ghaziabad 236, Kanpur 211, Gobindgarh 206, Lucknow 197, Amritsar 190, Gwalior 187, Firozabad 187, Kolkata 187, Agra 185, Indore 183, Ranchi 182, Jamshedpur 172, Sindri 166, Jodhpur 164, Asansol 163, Allahabad 160, Alwar 153, Jaipur 151, Nahan 141, Jalandhar 140, Jabalpur 136, Anpara 134, Jhansi 127, Bangalore 122, Paonta Sahib 118, Korba 117, Bhopal 115, Angul 115, Howrah 114, Dewas 113, Bhilai Nagar 112, Navi Mumbai 111, Mumbai 109, Thoothukudi 108, Hubli-Dharwad 107, Ramagundam 106, Jamnagar 106, Rourkela, 106, Rajkot 105, Nagda 105, Talcher 104, Golaghat 103, Naya Nangal 101, Nagpur 99, Nalgonda 98, Visakhapatnam 97, Ahmedabad 95, Surat 91, Kota 91, Amravati 90, Chandrapur 90, Sibsagar 89, Nashik 89, Patencheru 87, Berhampur 87, Vadodara 86, Aurangabad (MS) 86, Ujjain 86, Udaipur 85, Tezpur 83, Parwanoo 83, Cuttack 83, Kolhapur 82, Pune 82, Salem 82, Chandigarh 81, Hydrabad 80, Vijaywada 80, Bongaigaon 80, Kurnool 79, Vapi 78, Damtal 77, Shillong 77, Panaji 75, Bhubaneshwar 75, Gulbarga 74, Coimbatore 74, Vasco 73, Silvassa 71, Solapur 71, Chennai 70, Mormugao 67, Trivandrum 65, Shimla 64, Baddi 63 and Nalagarh 63.
The average concentration of SO2, NO2 and RSPM assessed under the national ambient air quality standard for residential, industrial and other areas in November 2009 averaged to SO2 = 50 µg/m3, NO2 = 40 µg/m3 and RSPM = 60 µg/m3.
Ambient air quality in respect of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and suspended particulate matter of size less than 10 micro metre is being monitored by 424 stations covering 175 cities in the country, the minister informed.
In the case of Agra, which is a sensitive area considering its tourist attraction, air quality data is monitored on a daily basis.
There is no standard methodology for ranking polluted cities of the world. However, various organisations have come out with their ranking of most polluted cities of the world based on different parameters, the minister stated
