Hyderabad: Despite efforts under the National Air Quality Programme (NAQP) to strengthen air quality monitoring, nearly 55% of Hyderabad’s area remains uncovered, making it difficult to track and control emissions.
Currently, the city has 10 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). However, experts say that this number is far below the requirement. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which conducted a recent study, Hyderabad needs at least 30 CAAQMS stations to effectively monitor air quality across the Greater Hyderabad region, in line with CPCB guidelines that recommend station numbers based on population size.
The main pollutants measured by these monitoring centres include sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter PM 2.5 and PM 10. These sensors continuously record the concentration of pollutants in the air and send reports to the State and Central Pollution Control Boards (PCB) at regular intervals.
After strict directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) set up six new CAAQMS centres in 2022, in addition to existing stations at HCU, Industrial Estate (Sanathnagar), ICRISAT, Patancheru, and Nehru Zoological Park. However, as these stations cover only a 2–5 km radius, vast parts of the city, particularly suburban and outlying areas, remain unmonitored.
The newly established monitoring sites at Pasha Mailaram, Bolarum, and IIT Hyderabad are helping fill some gaps, but large sections of the expanding metropolitan region are still beyond real-time air quality tracking.
In addition to continuous monitoring systems, the Pollution Control Board also operates State Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations, which collect samples manually. These take two days for sample collection and additional time for laboratory analysis, delaying pollution data availability.
Experts suggest that increasing the number of real-time monitoring stations could enable authorities to record pollution levels every 10 minutes, allowing for quicker responses to rising emissions.
Hyderabad, with a population of over 1 crore, has 85 lakh registered vehicles, 5,000 industries, and 6,000 new construction projects every year. More than 3 lakh vehicles are over 15 years old, contributing significantly to air pollution levels.
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