Air pollution in Mumbai has spiked up aggressively in the last one year or so. The jump in some areas of the city is so high that it may lead to a crisis situation in near future. This is strikingly similar to Delhi’s first air pollution crisis dating back to the 80s.
Two major cities, two ‘similarly different’ set of people, and one problem to worry about; air pollution. While authorities in Delhi have sprung into action, Mumbai is mostly ignorant about the rising level of particulate matter (PM) pollutants in the city’s air. If the trend continues, it is likely to have a snowball effect. Soon, Mumbai could be tailing Delhi’s current pollution levels.
The info-graphic below shows PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels in three major areas of Mumbai between 2013 and 2015
It is easy to deduce that Andheri is worst hit in terms of worsening air quality. Wadala too has struggled but there has been a marginal improvement in Worli. Overall, the current pollution levels are close to being satisfactory but aren’t safe.
But will these levels deviate mildly or will they rise in future? The number of vehicles plying on Mumbai’s roads has seen some significant rise in the last 10 years. Moreover, unending traffic jams only increase the per-capita vehicular emissions for the city (speaking theoretically). In addition to this, the number of registered vehicles is only rising every year. It is interesting to note that good annual rains have also played a key role in keeping pollution levels across Mumbai under control.
Pollution is basically a trigger, and if Mumbai chooses to look away from the current situation, soon the city will be facing an environmental and medical emergency. Isn’t it high time that Mumbai learned from Delhi and did more to curb pollution in the city? The right thing to do would be to completely avert a similar situation by turning to sustainable and eco-friendly methods and practices right away.
(Featured Image Credit: mpg.de)
