Vijayawada and Guntur are on top of the high air pollution cities

  • | Monday | 16th January, 2017

The air pollution levels in Vijayawada city have been constantly going up in the last five years. It said that air pollution is a serious matter of concern considering the adverse impact on health. According to CPCB, ambient Particulate Matter (PM10) was found exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in Vijayawada, Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore and Visakhapatnam. "Air pollution is one of the major health concerns for the citizens as the cases of breathing troubles are fast growing," observed noted pulmonologist Dr G Ravindranath.The air pollution levels in Guntur have went up from just 74 to 100 in a span of five years. While national average of PM10 concentration is 60 ug/m3, Guntur has touched almost a record level of 100 ug/m3.

AMARAVATI: In what could be an early warning signal to the administration before going into the actual works of capital city construction with massive structures and industries, the air pollution levels in Vijayawada and Guntur cities are going up at an alarming pace.Unless immediate corrective measures are put in place, the situation could go awry, say experts. The senior medical professionals too are worried that the days are not too far for people of Vijayawada and Guntur to face ordeals on the lines of New Delhi if proper control measures are not initiated on war footing basis. If the situation has reached thus dreaded levels even before the concrete is laid for the capital city expansion, it could turn further dangerous in the future making it very difficult even to breath, feels the experts.Interestingly, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had put the state government on high alert on rapidly increasing air pollution levels in the state almost four months ago. According to CPCB, ambient Particulate Matter (PM10) was found exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in Vijayawada, Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore and Visakhapatnam. It said that air pollution is a serious matter of concern considering the adverse impact on health. CPCB had also reminded of state authorities as to how seriously Supreme Court, different High Courts and National Green Tribunal (NGT) handled the air pollution issues while asking the government and state pollution control board to ready with a blue print to control the pollution levels.A few months after the CPCB warning, the global NGO, Greenpeace came out with more stunning report saying that Air Pollution levels in Guntur, Ananthapuram and Visakhapatnam have exceeded the national average. While national average of PM10 concentration is 60 ug/m3, Guntur has touched almost a record level of 100 ug/m3. Thus, Guntur has secured a place in the national top pollutant cities. Similarly, it was around 84 ug/m3 in Ananthapuram, and 61 ug/m3 in Visakhapatnam.However, according to CPCB it is Vijayawada which is the most dreaded city for having highest levels of PM10 in the state with 110 ug/m3. The air pollution levels in Vijayawada city have been constantly going up in the last five years. While it was around 90 ug/m3 in 2011, it was 97 ug/m3 in 2012. It crossed 100 mark when it reached 104 ug/m3 in 2014. It bettered its own record by touching 110 ug/m3 in 2015. This is almost double than the national average of 60 ug/m3. "Air pollution is one of the major health concerns for the citizens as the cases of breathing troubles are fast growing," observed noted pulmonologist Dr G Ravindranath.The air pollution levels in Guntur have went up from just 74 to 100 in a span of five years. Interestingly, the levels in Visakhapatnam have come down considerably from 84 ug/m3 to 61 ug/m3. Fast degrading greenery in and around the capital city is one of the major reason for growing air pollution levels in the twin cities, said professor P Sundara Kumar, who conducted various studies on loss of greenery in the capital city region.Although, Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) has initiated several measures to make the capital city a green-blue city, no one in the civic bodies at Vijayawada and Guntur looked bothered about the fate of the locals.

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