Cities must not be the only focus of air pollution management strategies. Air pollution is a global phenomenon, and there must be a routine check-up to keep track of the quality of air in each and every region. On Friday, August 5, the Union administration informed the Parliament that air pollution is predominantly an urban issue and that it is concentrating on monitoring ambient air quality in metropolitan areas whereas the focus has been uplifted from the rural sector.
Only 26 of the 1,243 air quality monitoring stations that monitor 465 cities across the nation have been built in rural regions; 24 are in Punjab and two are being used experimentally in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
According to DownToEarth magazine, Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated that “Urban areas are where air pollution is most prevalent. The government is therefore concentrating on keeping an eye on the ambient air quality in urban areas.”
But in contradiction to the statement Prof. Sagnik Dey, Institute Chair Professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi, stated that “according to science, pollution is not a phenomenon of cities in South Asia, India, or other emerging nations”
Experts believe that just because the rural areas are not being monitored properly it does not make the rural areas any less of a victim of air pollution.
According to numerous studies and satellite data, air pollution is a significant issue in both urban and rural areas, according to Chandra Bhushan, CEO of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iForest).
Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, emphasized that air pollution “flows like a river” from Punjab to West Bengal, and all places get affected. He used the example of poor air quality in the entire Indo-Gangetic plain to make his point.
It has now become very important for the government to maintain a proper air pollution management strategy in covering all the areas rather than making air pollution an urban phenomenon whereas in rural areas air pollution is almost at par with the urban areas.
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