Hyderabad: A new analysis of winter pollution in India’s five southern states until January 26, 2021, carried out by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has revealed some startling details.
It states that clean air, courtesy of lockdown and monsoon period, has now been lost since economy got reopened and after winter set in. Levels of higher particulate matter 2.5 microns in thickness (PM 2.5) are being witnessed, which are typical when there are continuous emissions, including from vehicles, industry, and construction. PM 2.5 gets trapped due to meteorological changes.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director in charge of CSE’s Research and Advocacy said: “This analysis has dispelled the myth about safer air in the south compared to other regions. Health impacts are almost equally bad. Despite the dramatic reduction in air pollution during lockdown, pollution has bounced back across the southern region, unmasking the high impact of local and regional…