Air quality in Kalyan

What is the current air quality index of Kalyan?

Kalyan is a city in the Thane district of Maharashtra state and a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is a neighbouring city of Mumbai and is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. In 2011, it had an estimated population of just over 1.2 million people. This will, no doubt, have increased over the last ten years.

At the beginning of 2021, Kalyan was experiencing a period of “Unhealthy” air with a US AQI reading of 162. This is in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendations. The recorded levels of the pollutants were as follows: PM2.5 - 76 µg/m³, PM10 - 76 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 3 µg/m³ and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - 0.8 µg/m³.

With an unhealthy level such as this, the advice would be to close doors and windows to prevent the ingress of dirty air into the room. Those of a sensitive disposition should avoid venturing outside until the air quality improves. All outdoor activity should be postponed at these highly polluted times.

Is the air in Kalyan very polluted?

Air pollution levels in Greater Mumbai and other major ten cities of Maharashtra have been higher last year as compared to the previous year. While it was expected that there would be a reduction in air pollution due to the lockdown. Weekly air pollution increased 10 times in Mumbai, 16 times in Navi Mumbai, eight times in Kalyan and five times in Pune. Winter air became more toxic as the share of PM2.5 increased to 40 per cent throughout October and to an average of 46 per cent during November. The share of PM2.5 in PM10 reached 60 per cent on Diwali this year. Worli, Vile Parle, Kurla and CSIA stations have registered "very poor" category for several days last November even though the city has been moderately polluted.

What are the main sources of air pollution in Kalyan?

Seventy per cent of air pollution in Kalyan and Dombivli is caused due to the smoke emitted by vehicles.

It is a typical and predictable winter trend when pollution from local sources, including vehicles, industry, construction, and biomass burning, gets stuck due to meteorological changes, but in October and November last year the average PM2.5 level was 25 to 30 per cent higher in the Greater Mumbai region than in the previous October and November. This makes it clear that the region cannot rely solely on the local benefits of its proximity to the sea. At this time of year, rural households start to need to heat their homes with the dried animal dung cakes which are very traditional but cause a lot of air pollution. Also, at this time of year, the harvest has been gathered and the remains of the crop can be burnt as a means of preparing the ground for the next crop. This is highly controversial as it produces a lot of polluting smoke which very often drifts for many kilometres on the wind thus polluting other areas and cities.

Can the quality of Kalyan’s air be improved?

The quality can be improved but it will take a concerted effort by the local government and back-up by the national government. As one of the main polluters, vehicles must be looked at again. Many using the city streets are older than 15 years and therefore lack modern technology which strictly controls their emissions.

The fuel they use is often adulterated by the addition of tax-free hydrocarbons. With this addition, the fuel is considerably cheaper because no tax is paid on the hydrocarbon content. This must be changed through new legislation from the government level.

Subsidies could be introduced which encourage residents to use public transport more than they do. Or financial encouragement could be introduced to encourage people to change their cars for newer ones which produce lee pollution.

The traditional use of dried dung cakes as a source of fuel needs to be addressed. It is both cheap and convenient but the side effects are that it is highly polluting. Most families could not afford the financial outlay of buying a new gas or electric stove nor could they afford the fuel to operate them. This is where the government could assist.

Motorists have been complaining about dusty roads and traffic congestion which contribute to air pollution. It has been suggested that the roads are cleaned with a vacuum device to remove the duct completely. They should then be sprayed with water to keep the remaining dust from rising up into the air.

Once a vehicle stuck in traffic, engines are still running on idle and this leads to increased pollution. The traffic situation in Kalyan and Dombivli is bad due to the ongoing infrastructure works. Sometimes the vehicles are stuck for hours at just one or two busy junctions. When the number of vehicles is increasing, there is a need to have the proper infrastructure to deal with it. With bridges shut for repairs, roads either dug-up or covered with potholes, motorists are bound to suffer.

What are the health implications of breathing in Kalyan’s polluted air?

Breathing in polluted air has a dangerous effect not only on your lungs but also on the heart. Prolonged exposure to small dust particles in the air leads to serious health problems such as respiratory problems, irritation in the nasal passages, asthma, COPD, kidney problems, and sometimes it can also cause cancer. At the same time, a new research has found that breathing in polluted air can also lead to obesity.

According to a study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, air pollution can have a major impact on our weight. Researchers conducted this study on mice, during which they placed pregnant mice in a polluted place while the other group was kept in a place with clean air.

After 19 days, it was found that the mice who were breathing in the polluted air were experiencing such difficulties; the lungs were found to be swollen, the resistance to insulin had increased, LDL cholesterol levels had increased by 50 per cent and the rats that were living in the polluted zone had gained weight after just 8 weeks of exposure.