Environment dept dismisses Awaaz’a AQI readings

MPCB deployed air quality monitoring vans before Mumbai Marathon, addressing pollution concerns highlighted by Awaaz Foundation's citizen science study.

: On the eve of the Mumbai Marathon, the state pollution control board (MPCB) at 6pm Saturday deployed eight air quality monitoring mobile vans along the route. The board instructed the civic body to ensure cleanliness of roads on the marathon route and compliance in constructions along the route from Saturday evening onwards.

Environment dept dismisses Awaaz’a AQI readings

The deployment of air quality monitoring mobile vans follows air quality index (AQI) readings recorded at these locations along the marathon route on Friday, 48 hours prior to the event, by Awaaz Foundation as part of a citizen science initiative. The lowest reading was recorded at Worli’s Khan Abdul Gafar Khan Road (95 micrograms per cubic meter or µg/m3) and the highest reading (154 µg/m3) was at Mahim Reti Bunder. “All readings were well in excess of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) safe limit for PM2.5 of 60µg/m3 for 24 hours,” Sumaira Abdulali, founder, Awaaz Foundation, had said in a statement.

A press statement by Vinita Singal, principal secretary to the state environment and climate change department, stated that Awaaz Foundation employed Atmos sensor-based air quality monitors, which calls for addressing the validity and reliability of the data presented by it. It dismissed the data saying it cannot be representative of regulatory-grade air quality measurements.

“It is important to note that while sensor-based monitors can provide indicative data, they do not adhere to the standards and protocols established by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for regulatory air quality monitoring. The CPCB mandates specific equipment and methodologies to ensure consistency, accuracy, and comparability of air quality data across the country,” the statement read.

The statement further clarified that since air quality is highly influenced by meteorological conditions such as wind speed, temperature, and humidity, the data collected by Awaaz Foundation may not reflect the actual air quality scenario during the event, like activities and emissions present at the time of monitoring on Friday. “Factors such as traffic volume, construction activities, and other local sources of pollution can vary substantially, further limiting the relevance of the monitoring data to marathon day conditions,” it said, while encouraging stakeholders and the public to rely on data from approved and standardized sources to assess air quality. It urged people to avoid drawing conclusions from unverified or non-standard methodologies.

In response to this, Abdulali said at the time of their readings, PM2.5 levels displayed on the Sameer App of CPCB were also above permissible limits in most parts of Mumbai, creating concern for the health of participants along a route where official data was unavailable. In addition to the three vans placed earlier in the day, she said, MPCB had taken note of Awaaz’s citizen science study to conduct official monitoring by placing five additional vans to provide official data along the length of the Marathon route.

Accepting that sensor-based monitors can provide indicative data, she also pointed out that they cannot adhere to CPCB standards and protocols since the regulatory authority mandates specific equipment, which is not available to ordinary citizens and NGOs due to its high cost.

“Nevertheless, citizen science data is important to highlight areas of concern and is used in many parts of the world to augment data from official monitoring. Regulatory authorities across the world recognise the importance of such supplementary data,” she said in a statement by Awaaz Foundation.