Last yr, Kolkata's foulest air was near Victoria on 'green' Maidan
Times of India | 22 January 2024
KOLKATA: The air quality monitoring station at Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) - on the Maidan, one of Kolkata's 'greenest' zones - recorded the foulest air in the city in 2023, with 61 'poor' air quality index (AQI) days and 12 'very poor air' days. In contrast, Fort William, barely 1.5km away - and also on the Maidan - had one of the best air qualities last year, with just 18 'poor' and no 'very poor' days.
The air around Rabindra Sarobar, also a green zone, was almost as good as Fort William's.
Scientists said VMH station's poor AQI could be explained by its location: on the southern edge of the Maidan, it bears the brunt of dust kicked up by the thousands who play on the dry grounds almost every day.
VMH was closely followed by Ballygunge, which recorded six 'very poor' and 52 'poor' days, according to data accessed by TOI, even as the Rabindra Bharati University (BT Road) and Jadavpur stations recorded the most 'satisfactory' and 'moderate' days.
The bad air measured at the monitoring station at Victoria Memorial was attributed to dust from the constant erosion of the Maidan's dry topsoil and tailpipe emission from a sea of vehicles along roads on all three sides, said Kalyan Rudra, chairman, West Bengal PCB.
The reason for bad air quality recorded at two other air quality monitoring stations - at Ballygunge and at Salt Lake - was different from VMH's. At these two stations, open biomass burning, combined with vehicular emission, caused bad air, said scientists.
Rabindra Sarobar and Fort William had the best air quality. While the former recorded 102 'good' and 129 'satisfactory' days, the latter had 91 'good' and 144 'satisfactory' days.
Rudra said the good air at Fort William was because of some measures adopted by the Army. "A year ago, the air quality at Fort William was not so good. We suggested some measures to the Army, which they urgently implemented. The results are there for everyone to see. Fort William is a shining example of how local-level mitigation measures can work wonders," the PCB chairman said.
Jadavpur and Rabindra Bharati University (B T Road) mostly trod the middle path, with the highest number of 'moderate' days: 133 at the former, and 131 at the latter. However, RBU's air quality was better overall, with 128 'satisfactory' days to Jadavpur's 104.
Rudra said Kolkata's air quality was largely governed by meteorological factors. The city suffers bad AQI days in winter, when particulate pollution spikes. Rainfall deficit also affects AQI adversely, Rudra said.
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