Govt downplays NGO report on air pollution

Downplaying Greenpeace India's recent report which said India overtook China's air pollution levels in 2015, the Centre today said the study was based on "extrapolated and constructed" data "without" field validation.
"Greenpeace India published a report titled 'Clean Air Action Plan: The Way Forward' in February 2016. The report... is on the basis of NASA satellite data which is based on extrapolated and constructed data without field validation," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
Greenpeace's analysis said India had overtaken China's air pollution levels in 2015 and its average particulate matter exposure was higher for the first time in the 21st century.

"China's strong measures to curb pollution have contributed to the biggest year-on-year air quality improvement on record while in contrast, India's pollution levels continued a decade-long increase to reach the highest level on record," it had said.
Javadekar said ambient air quality is monitored regularly in 254 cities and towns by the Central Pollution Control Board, Pollution Control Committees and others.
Of the cities having 46-million plus population, ambient

air quality data monitored under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme during 2015 for 41 cities indicate that the values of SO2 are within National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 50ug/m3.

The value of NO2 in nine cities exceeded NAAQS standards of 40ug/m3 while the value of PM10 in 38 cities do not comply withi the NAAQS standard of 60ug/m3, the Minister said.
Replying to another question, Javadekar said there are six categories namely good, satisfactory, moderately polluted, poor, very poor and severe and each of these categories is decided based on ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts.
He said that at present 23 cities are connected to the web-based system of National Air Quality Index (AQI).
The analysis of AQI values of 23 cities conducted by CPCB during November 2015-January 2016 revealed that in January this year, 16 per cent days fell under severe category, 26 per cent in very poor, 15 per cent in poor and 31 per cent in moderate category. Only one per cent was in good category.