Kashmir air heavy, AQI data slippery

Srinagar, Dec 17: Hazy skies have defined the season for Kashmir.

The thick smog is as much on the minds of people as it is in the lungs.

Yet, there is no consistency in air quality data across various online portals, the variations putting a question mark over the reliability.

Greater Kashmir spoke to J&K Pollution Control Committee, the nodal agency to monitor ambient air quality, for a better picture of what lies in the air we breathe.

On Wednesday, when this report was being filed, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Raj Bagh station, according to the real-time monitor installed outside J&K PCB office, was 163.

On the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website, for the Raj Bagh station, the air was reported as “moderately polluted”.

The maximum PM2.5 levels were 238, while the maximum PM10 levels were 216.

The average PM2.5 was 151, and the average PM10 levels were 163. The particulate matter levels fluctuate through the day, as per the available graphs on the website.

Meanwhile, on a number of online portals, AQI for Srinagar’s Raj Bagh station was reported to be between 130 and 215. Khanmoh Srinagar had an AQI of 311, the highest and worst for any station in the Kashmir division.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Member Secretary J&K PCB, Vasu Yadav, said J&K has 44 air monitoring stations across all 20 districts.

Explaining the variations in AQI across platforms, he said, most data available on online non-governmental portals is real-time and sourced from small air quality monitors, which could not be as accurate as the scientific monitoring done by the board.

“Real-time air quality monitors are automated and push data to servers in real time. In manual stations, which only JK PCB has here, we use samplers. Samplers have filter paper, which is analysed in a lab scientifically and provides the most reliable and accurate measurement of PM10 and PM2.5,” Yadav said.

He said power fluctuations, which are very common in Kashmir settings, can affect the data of real-time air quality monitors.

Yadav argued that AQI assessment through satellite monitoring was not “as robust yet” and may not be the actual assessment of the AQI, while reacting to a scientific report that said J&K has poor air quality all year round in all districts. “J&K has better air quality than many other places. Our peak winter AQI in Srinagar is around 160. We must not portray otherwise based on unreliable data,” he said.

J&K PCB attributed the PM in air to cold weather, dry season and dust and smoke emanating from roads, carbon fuel burning and construction activities.

“While it is true that vehicles have increased, the quality of fuel as well as the performance of engines has improved over the years,” Yadav said.

He said the condition of roads and the amount of pollution that vehicles contribute are also correlated.

A study on the effect of vehicular pollution on the ambient concentrations of particulate matter and carbon dioxide in Srinagar city, a compendium by Springer, shows road transport as the prime mover of urban toxics in Srinagar, with emissions inventories showing nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide spiking 30 to 40 percent in peak hours. The J&K PCB data for the past four years shows that AQI has improved in most districts of J&K. The highest recorded annual average PM10 for any district has been recorded in Budgam in 2022, while the highest PM2.5 levels have been recorded in Udhampur in 2022.