Byrnihat and Nalbari most polluted; Sivasagar the cleanest city in Northeast

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Byrnihat and Nalbari were found to be among the most polluted cities in the Northeast. However, the silver lining in the dark cloud was Sivasagar, which emerged as the second cleanest city in a survey of the ambient air quality in cities across the country in the month of February 2024.

The monthly air quality snapshot by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has again put the spotlight on hazardous air pollution levels in cities across the North-eastern states, with Byrnihat and Nalbari emerging at the top of the list.

Byrnihat, on the Meghalaya-Assam border, was found to be the most polluted city in India, while Nalbari came in 5th place, based on the monthly average PM2.5 concentration for February 2024.

Byrnihat recorded a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 183 µg/m3, which measured around 60 µg/m3 higher than the country’s second-most polluted city of Araria in Bihar. The PM2.5 levels in Byrnihat were also nearly 1.8 times the PM2.5 concentration recorded for Delhi for the same period, which was the 14th most polluted city in India for February 2024.

 Apart from Byrnihat and Nalbari, the other cities in the North-eastern states that made it to the list of the 30 most polluted cities in India in February 2024 were Agartala in 12th place, Guwahati in 19th place, and Nagaon in 28th place, highlighting the worsening pollution levels across the region. Out of 11 cities with Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in north-eastern states, six recorded PM2.5 levels beyond the prescribed daily National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

 However, Sivasagar, Silchar, Aizawl, and Imphal recorded monthly average PM2.5 concentrations that were below the NAAQS and were found to be the cleanest cities in the region. Sivasagar was the second-cleanest city in India, followed by Silchar from the area at the 23rd spot. However, none of the cities complied with the WHO-safe guideline concentrations for PM2.5.

Sunil Dahiya, a South Asia analyst at CREA, emphasized the pressing need for significantly bolstering air quality monitoring in the north-eastern states to track air pollution levels effectively. Dahiya noted that these states, once renowned for their pristine environment, are now witnessing a concerning shift due to unregulated industrial operations, inadequate public transportation infrastructure, rampant construction lacking efficient pollution control measures, and other contributing factors. The escalating pollution levels pose significant threats to public health and the region’s economy. Dahiya underscored the urgency of implementing aggressive measures to mitigate pollution emissions at their source, thereby safeguarding both public health and the economic well-being of the region.

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