Air pollution is a justified issue for the mineral-rich, solid fuel excavation-oriented and heavy industry-led state of Jharkhand. Simultaneously, vehicles in urban areas exacerbate the pollution situation within the cities. In this concern, the cities of Jharkhand are always under the radar of environment enthusiasts, especially during Diwali, just before winter. 

The air quality and pollution at Ranchi and Dhanbad have been studied based on two major parameters of contamination of city air i.e. PM2.5 and PM10. The dataset for Ranchi has been obtained from the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB), and that for Dhanbad from the CPCB CAAQMS website. In Ranchi, it is observed that in the past seven days from 29th October to 4th November the air quality of the city remained mostly in the Moderate category (Figure 1). In between the post-Durga puja and pre-Diwali period, the average PM concentration has remained relatively close to the permissible limits and the week ended with deteriorating air quality, possibly compromised due to increased Diwali firecracker bursting, and rising PM and SO2 levels, a critical concern with the approaching winter.

Mr Vinay Jaju Managing Director, SwitchON Foundation said “With the advent of winters, we witness the deterioration in air quality, exacerbated by the significant role of firecrackers, especially in the aftermath of Diwali. Cities struggle to breathe as they transform into polluted gas chambers during the winter season. It’s our collective responsibility to say no to firecrackers and strive for cleaner air.”

In Dhanbad, the AQI was mostly moderate (135 on average) during the same time frame except on the 3rd of November when it reached a satisfactory level (Figure 2). From November 4th the AQI has started rising to indicate an alarming level of AQI in the city in the pre-Diwali period. Simultaneously, there has been a discernible increase in the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in the ambient air. This escalation in air pollution, coupled with the rise in particulate matter concentrations, underscores the need for vigilant monitoring and prompt measures to mitigate the deteriorating air quality conditions, especially with the upcoming festivities of Diwali and the onset of winter.

The Predicament with Diwali:

As per a report published in Zee News dated 6th November 2022, the air quality of Ranchi significantly dropped post-Diwali with PM2.5 and PM10 reaching values of 96 and 114 ug/m3 respectively and reached 187 by the weekend. The upcoming Diwali festivity in 2023 is a major concern for the entire state of Jharkhand as market penetration and people’s awareness of green crackers are very low in the state according to a previous year SwitchON study. During this time, nighttime exposure of these cities to pollutants like particulate matter and sulphur dioxide is imminent. To maintain the general air quality status of these cities, the city dwellers need to be directed towards green crackers which will lead to a minimum 30% reduction of particulate pollution, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide as green crackers avoid the use of potassium nitrate, sulphur, barium substances, which lead to striking air pollution scenario in the entire subcontinent. 

In an order issued on November 7, 2023, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed its previous directives, emphasizing that these guidelines are applicable nationwide and are binding for all states, not limited to the Delhi-National Capital Region alone. The key points from the original order, which was initially issued on October 23, 2018, under the leadership of Justice A. K. Sikri, are as follows:

• The original order prohibited the sale and use of traditional firecrackers throughout the country, permitting only the use of “Green Crackers” designed to minimize emissions and noise levels.
• The order specified a specific time frame for the bursting of crackers during Diwali and other festivals, allowing it only from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• It directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to supervise the production and sale of green crackers and ensure compliance with established standards.
• The order also instructed the police to ensure that only licensed merchants sell green crackers and that e-commerce platforms do not offer firecrackers for sale online.

On a different note, the main constraints with monitoring Ranchi’s and other major cities of Jharkhand’s ambient air quality lie with a limited number of air quality monitoring stations in the city. Several studies denote that despite being a part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for the mitigation of air pollution in non-attaintment cities, the unavailability of reference-grade monitoring data from multiple co-calibrated stations, particularly those of CPCB CAAQMS for the cities of Jharkhand has been a major problem except in case of  Dhanbad. To counter this issue more multi-parameter air quality monitoring stations are required, to access the real-time data on air quality and to draw valuable insights and perform trend analysis, pollutant mapping and develop statistically significant insights into the air quality for the major cities of the state.

Media Dossier

Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in