Chandigarh & Air Pollution
No doubt that Chandigarh has a large percentage of area under green cover, but yet there are few other issues which we need to deal with before things go out of hand. One such is the rising air pollution in our city owing to various reasons like:
i) Rise in number of vehicles
ii) Dust storms from nearby fields
iii) Manufacturing processes in industries
iv) There is also another big factor of crackers during Diwali that adds immensely to increase in SPM levels.
Table 1
SPM levels in Chandigarh are above the prescribed limit of 120-140 ppm.
AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DATA IN CHANDIGARH (ANNUAL AVERAGE)
| Year | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone | Parameter (microgm /cubic meter) | Permissible Limits | |||||||
| Sector 17 | SPM | 60 | 87 | 92 | 111 | - | - | - | - |
| RSPM | 140 | 185 | 215 | 254 | 212 | 276 | 296 | 265 | |
| SO2 | 60 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.7 | |
| NOx | 60 | 12 | 16 | 25 | 27 | 10 | 11 | 11 | |
| Industrial | SPM | 120 | 141 | 147 | 136 | - | - | - | - |
| Area | RSPM | 360 | 306 | 430 | 364 | 331 | 401 | 460 | 424 |
| SO2 | 60 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 6.4 | |
| NOx | 90 | 17 | 20 | 34 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9.8 | |
| Punjab | SPM | 60 | 94 | 74 | 69 | - | - | - | - |
| Engineering | RSPM | 140 | 191 | 186 | 137 | - | - | - | - |
| College | SO2 | 60 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | - | - | - | - |
| NOx | 60 | 10 | 10 | 13 | - | - | - | - | |
| GCG-42, | SPM | 60 | 103 | 102 | - | - | - | - | - |
| IMTECH Sec | RSPM | 140 | 227 | 234 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 39 (From Oct 2005) | SO2 | 60 | 2.0 | 2.0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| NOx | 60 | 11 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Kaimbwala | SPM | 60 | 99 | 80 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Village | RSPM | 140 | 217 | 198 | - | - | - | - | - |
3 Comments so far
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you have said that we will don’t burn crackers but i think that no one in chandigarh will listen to it because i think that in chandigarh there are only 5% of men, women and children who don’t burn crackers. this is my comment……………………………………
In chandigarh their is air pollution because of us only that we don’t clean our houses and we don’t clean our environment now i will give some points on cleaning the environment -:
1: clean your houses regularly.
2: clean your outside regularly.
3: don’t break the nature balance
if these points are followed by chandigarh&air pollution will not be here
I agree with you that perhaps only a small percentage of population will stop burning crackers. But we at EonEcon also believe the fact that each individual can make a difference if they are made aware of the realities concerning the situation. And how through slight changes in their day to day activities, they can be an agent for bringing about Global change over time.
Sometimes, the only thing stopping one from even attempting an action is the lack of awareness and knowledge of how it can bring about a huge change.Thanks Avneet, for your suggestions about what people can do to keep their surroundings and environment clean.