Mumbai Marathon: 8 air quality monitoring mobile vans placed along route, says MPCB

Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI) The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has placed eight air quality monitoring mobile vans ahead of Sunday's Mumbai Marathon, a senior official said.

These vans were placed from 6pm on Saturday, said Environment and Climate Change department principal secretary Vinita Singhal.

She also said the air quality monitoring carried out by Awaaz Foundation along the marathon route do not adhere to the standards and protocols established by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

MPCB has taken various efforts towards mitigation of air pollution in Mumbai city continuously and with regards to the Mumbai Marathon it has instructed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to ensure cleanliness of roads on the event route and to not carry out sweeping from Saturday evening, she said in a statement.

In view of the recent ambient air quality monitoring conducted by Awaaz Foundation on January 17 at eight locations along the route of the marathon, it is imperative to address the validity and reliability of the data presented and provide clarity to the public, Singhal said.

She said the monitoring carried out by Awaaz Foundation employed Atmos sensor-based air quality monitors, which can provide indicative data but do not adhere to the standards and protocols established by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for regulatory air quality monitoring.

The CPCB mandates specific equipment and methodologies to ensure consistency, accuracy, and comparability of air quality data across the country, and, consequently, the data collected (by Awaaz Foundation) cannot be regarded as representative of regulatory-grade air quality measurements, she said.

"Air quality is highly influenced by meteorological conditions such as wind speed, temperature, and humidity. The conditions on January 17 may significantly differ from those expected on January 19 (day of the event). As a result, the data collected does not reflect the actual air quality scenario during the event," Singhal said.

"Factors such as traffic volume, construction activities, and other local sources of pollution can vary substantially, further limiting the relevance of the monitoring data to marathon day conditions. For the Mumbai Marathon, regulatory-grade air quality monitoring is conducted in compliance with CPCB standards to ensure accurate and actionable data," the official asserted.

The health and safety of participants and attendees at the marathon remain top priority and stakeholders and the public are urged to rely on data from approved and standardized sources to assess air quality, she said.

They must avoid drawing conclusions from unverified or non-standard methodologies, Singhal added.

The Awaaz Foundation had said its volunteers had checked pollution levels at eight spots along the marathon route on Friday morning as part of a "citizens' science initiative" and had found pollution levels very high and breaching safety limits. PTI MR BNM