Air pollution worsens in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Badlapur and Ulhasnagar
Several areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) continue to exceed safe air quality limits, according to a new report by Respirer Living Sciences
Mumbai: Several areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) continue to exceed safe air quality limits, according to a new report by Respirer Living Sciences. While air quality has improved in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, these cities still face significant pollution challenges.
An analysis of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 data from 2019 to 2024, conducted using the AtlasAQ Platform, reveals that 10 out of 19 non-attainment cities in Maharashtra have shown rising PM 2.5 pollution levels, despite interventions under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
The NCAP aims to reduce particulate pollution by up to 40% by 2025-26 from the base year of 2019-20, marking India's first performance-linked funding programme to improve air quality.
The analysis, conducted across 19 locations including major cities and urban centres, demonstrates mixed progress in reducing air pollution under India's NCAP, highlighting both improvements and ongoing challenges.
Cities including Navi Mumbai, Aurangabad and Jalna continue to exceed safe air quality limits. Navi Mumbai recorded PM 2.5 levels of 61.80 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in 2023, significantly above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards of 40 µg/m³ and the World Health Organization's 5 µg/m³ guideline.
Other cities, including Thane, Badlapur, Ulhasnagar, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Nagpur and Solapur, show PM 2.5 levels consistently above the benchmark. "Despite NCAP efforts to reduce particulate matter levels by 20-30%, these cities face persistent challenges due to industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, and rapid urbanisation, underscoring the urgent need for more robust pollution control measures in the state," the report noted.
In contrast, Mumbai and Nagpur have shown improvements. Mumbai's PM 2.5 levels dropped from 49.75 µg/m³ in 2023 to 28.82 µg/m³ in 2024. Similarly, Nagpur's levels fell from 51.35 µg/m³ in 2023 to 40.53 µg/m³ in 2024. These improvements suggest that targeted pollution control measures, such as traffic management, industrial regulation, and enhanced public awareness, may be having an impact.
"Maharashtra's cities are at a crossroads," said Ronak Sutaria, founder and chief executive officer of Respirer Living Sciences. "While there have been some improvements, the data reveals that pollution control efforts must be scaled up significantly if we are to meet the NCAP's revised targets for 2026."
Professor SN Tripathi, expert committee member for NCAP and dean of Kotak School of Sustainability at IIT Kanpur, expressed disappointment: "It's disappointing that despite available resources under NCAP and the XV (15th) Finance Commission, cities in Maharashtra haven't implemented advanced air quality management systems or just-in-time interventions. With two years left, it's crucial to deploy these measures so that residents can breathe easier."