Mumbai, which needs 67 air monitoring stations; has only 21 

By: Pune Pulse

October 21, 2023

Pune: Taking cognizance of the deteriorating air quality in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday announced a slew of guidelines to control air pollution. Clearly, this task has fallen to civil society organizations, which are ill-equipped in one important aspect: air quality monitoring infrastructure, as the city seeks to wage a long-term fight against pollution.

As per further information, Avinash Dhakne, CEO, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, stated that they are working to increase the number of monitoring stations across the state. They are working on setting up 41 more AQMS stations across Maharashtra. They are also looking at introducing sensor-based systems to get more regional information.

It is worthy to note that Mumbai has 21 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) since 2020. However, the number has not increased in the past three years. In fact, in 2018, there were 20 monitoring stations in Mumbai, but in the last five years, only one was added in 2020. Thus, taking the total to 21. 

Mumbai is a peninsular island city surrounded by the sea on three sides and can register a constant air flow. Thus, the overall AQI of the city is affected by the incoming winds from the neighbouring districts of Thane and Navi Mumbai. That is why it is important that such infrastructure is also available in neighbouring regions.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there are around five AQMS in Navi Mumbai, followed by three in Thane and one in Kalyan.

Shreyas Vange