Noise pollution less this Diwali, but air pollution levels up: MPCB

MUMBAI:Trombay was the noisiest area in the city during the festive days of Diwali and Gandhi Market while Matunga was the quietest, shows data recorded by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. While noise pollution was lower compared to last year, air pollution levels shot up considerably, found the board.
The MPCB records noise levels at 45 locations in the city on three days during the festive season.Trombay, with an average decibel count of 90 on Diwali day, was the noisiest in the city. While this year’s average noise level was higher than last year’s 85 dB at Prabhadevi, the peak noise recorded across the city was lower compared to 2014.
The readings found that noise levels in the city were higher during the day as compared to night. “Noise levels have declined during the night at all the locations. However, noise levels in the day have not shown decline at most of the locations monitored in Mumbai. This is due to an increase in background decibel levels which are caused due to heavy vehicular traffic,” said S C Kollur, scientific officer, MPCB. The other noisy areas included Majesh Wadi in Jogeshwari (89.9 dB avg), Kamathipura and Byculla-W both at 88.3 dB avg. On the other hand, areas which recorded noise levels lower than an average of 60 dB were Borivli-E (58.7 dB) Hindu Colony, Dadar (59.3 dB) and Gandhi Market, Matunga (58.6 dB).
Meanwhile, the level of pollutants in the air has risen. The MPCB records the ambient air quality for five days during Diwali. The data shows that the level of particulate material in the air shot up during Diwali day. PM 2.5 (Particulate material which measures lesser than 2.5 microns) at 116 mg/m3 (microgramme per cubic metre) was double the permissible limit of 60 mg/m3. The nitrogen oxide levels in the air had doubled as compared to 2014. “The air quality data of these locations indicates sudden rise of PM10, PM 2.5 due to firecracker bursting and heavy vehicular traffic,” said Kollur.
Environmentalists feel it is now time to use this data for creating awareness about air pollution. “There is no awareness about the air pollution that is caused by crackers. There are a few crackers in the market which cause lower air pollution but these are expensive and people don’t know about it. The government must use these recordings to spread awareness not just about crackers but other forms of air pollution as well,” said Sumaira Abdulali, environmentalist and convener, Awaaz Foundation.