Kolkata’s air quality remains 'unhealthy to very unhealthy'; PM2.5 main pollutant

Kolkata, Dec 13 (PTI) The city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the 'unhealthy to very unhealthy' range on Saturday, with PM2.5 identified as the key pollutant, a West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) official said.

The overall AQI was recorded at 276, placing it in the ‘very unhealthy’ category, the official added.

The AQI at Bamanghata in Bhangar area under Kolkata Police limits was 222 (very unhealthy) while at Rabindra Bharati University it was 175 (unhealthy). At Rabindra Sarobar, the AQI stood at 159 (unhealthy) at 2 pm, the official added.

At Victoria Memorial, the AQI stood at 172, while Ballygunge campus of Calcutta University recorded an AQI of 198, he added.

According to the WBPCB, the city had recorded an AQI of 385 on December 11 and 378 on December 12, with PM2.5 remaining the dominant pollutant.

Voicing concern that the city's air quality has reached "severe" levels, environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said data indicated that Kolkata had some of its cleanest air in 2024, with no "very poor" days recorded.

In December 2024, Kolkata recorded significantly better air quality, with an average PM2.5 level of 73, the lowest since 2019, he added.

"The current winter has seen a spike back into hazardous categories over the past two days. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was recently filed in the Supreme Court seeking to declare air pollution a National Public Health Emergency, citing that Kolkata's annual average PM2.5 levels are already far above World Health Organisation (WHO) safety limits," he said.

He warned that such unhealthy air causes respiratory illness even among people having no ailments and serious respiratory issues among vulnerable populations even with short exposure.

"The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has the authority to issue orders to curb pollution and has previously monitored West Bengal's compliance with air quality standards. The tribunal can act on complaints or potentially take suo motu notice of systemic environmental failures," he said. PTI SUS MNB