Patna, Muzaffarpur among 30 most polluted cities in the world

PATNA: Patna and Muzaffarpur in Bihar have figured among the 30 most polluted cities in the world and ranked 21 and 27, respectively, according to a 2021 World Air Quality Report by Swiss organisation IQAir, released on Tuesday. The two cities’ ranking in the last report was 28 and 32, respectively.
As per the report, not only the ranking has plunged but the overall concentration of ambient airborne PM2.5 (articulate matter less than 2.5 micron) has also increased.
Patna had a PM2.5 concentration of 78.2 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in 2021, which has risen by 14.3 per cent when compared to 68.4 ug/m³ in the previous year. Similarly, Muzaffarpur’s PM2.5 concentration of 82.9 ug/m³ in 2021, rose from 74.3 ug/m³ in 2020.The report also says that air pollution has costed an estimated 1,600 deaths in Patna in 2021.
The data of most polluted cities is a wake-up call for the state and a clear indication that air pollution has become a major public health concern, which demands immediate action and participation of all stakeholders.
Ashok Ghosh, chairman of Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) said during the Covid-19 time in 2020, the anthropogenic activities had been curtailed by the government due to lockdown, which resulted in good air quality across the country and the world.
“We need to compare the overall concentration of PM2.5 of cities in 2021 with 2019. Patna’s air quality was still better than the 2019 figure when the PM2.5 level was 82.1. In the case of Muzaffarpur, the PM2.5 level has slightly increased from 81.2 to 82.9,” he said.
He told this newspaper that a meeting was held with all stakeholders about the climate action plan and the rising air pollution level here, on Wednesday.
“In the meeting, we came to know that Muzaffarpur has disposed of the legacy waste from the landfill site while Gaya has removed around 40% of legacy waste.
The remote sensing images showed that the agriculture department has proactively worked in curbing the stubble and biomass burning in the state. In the image, we have seen that there is a distinct difference between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The red spots which indicate burning were widely spread all over Uttar Pradesh but in Bihar, we have less and scattered red spots,” Ghosh said.
He added: “The other major thing was that the number of good days has increased in non-attainment cities-- Patna, Gaya and Muzaffarpur in the last four years, while bad days have declined. We have decided to conduct a meeting every three months on air pollution to review the status of work and utilisation of funds given by the 15th Finance Commission. We are going in the right direction but it will still take time to reduce the pollution.”