AIR POLLUTION IN LUCKNOW

The human actions in recent times have changed global condition. The discharge from cars, industrial pollutants, infrastructure development, agricultural practices etc has raised the degrees of the harmful substances and gases like CO2, CO, SO2, NO and Particulate Matter(PM) in the air which is drastically changing the atmospheric condition and is very harmful for every living being .

Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh is the largest city in northern region with over 2.82 million population (As per Lucknow City Census 2011). Pollution is the introduction of contaminants in to the environment that adversely affects the human health and Lucknow is no exception of this case.

• Air quality of Lucknow according to analysis of last nine years air quality data shows a more or less stable trend for SO2 and a declining trend for NO2, both lying within the NAAQS. For PM10 increasing trend is seen which exceeds NAAQS. (As per CPCB, 2012 report).
•  As per report of WHO, 2014 the annual concentration of PM10 was 219ug/m3.
•  As per December, 2015 AQI of Lucknow was 489. The AQI between 401 and 500 is the severe call for the human health hazard.

Studies conducted by researchers revealed that ambient air pollution concentration are very high which causes serious problems to every living being. Analysts from the city have contemplated different aspects of air pollution of which the particulate matter is the main air pollutant in the city.

Air Pollution is the most common factor which affects the human health at a large extent. In 2018 the 7 of the 10 top most polluted cities were in India, including Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwandi, Patna, and Lucknow. As per the  WHO global air database, Lucknow ranks 7th in the most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 concentration levels recorded in 2016. Lucknow is third among the four most polluted cities of UP. Lucknow is just five units behind Delhi, which has been ranked sixth, with the pollution levels of 138 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

To check the quality of air in Lucknow, artificial lungs were installed in Lalbagh which turned black within 24 hrs. For this purpose HEPA filters were used.

"This shows the air quality here. It took six days for the lungs to turn black in Delhi, 18 days in Bangalore," said Ekta Shekhar, who is director of Climate Agenda, the organization which installed the artificial lungs.

  Reasons for Air Pollution in Lucknow:

•         Vehicular emissions and day-by-day increasing                          private vehicles on the road.

•         Rapid urbanization at the expense of greenery.

•         Industries surrounding Lucknow.

•         Unconsciousness and apathy of the government                        and public toward this problem.

•         Burning wood for fuel purposes.

•         Burning of the garbage.