WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION IN METROPOLITAN CITIES IN
INDIA? EXPLAIN WITH EXAMPLES.
The main sources contributing to air pollution for the metropolitan cities in India are –
vehicle exhaust, heavy industry including power generation, small scale industries including
brick kilns, resuspended dust on the roads due to vehicle movement and construction activities,
open waste burning, combustion of various fuels for cooking, lighting, and heating, in-situ power
generation via diesel generator sets.
In Indian cities, a major part of air pollution is sourced, all year around, from burning of diesel,
petrol, gas, coal, biomass, and waste and resuspended dust.
● Automobile emissions are a major cause of air pollution in metro cities.
● Fuel wood and biomass burning is the primary reason for near-permanent haze and
smoke observed above rural and urban India, and in satellite pictures of the country.
Fuelwood and biomass cakes are used for cooking and general heating needs.
● Some Indian taxis and auto-rickshaws run on adulterated fuel blends. Adulteration of
gasoline and diesel with lower-priced fuels is common in India. Some adulterants
increase emissions of harmful pollutants from vehicles, worsening urban air pollution.
● Traffic congestion is severe in India's cities and towns. Traffic congestion is caused by
several reasons, some of which are: increase in number of vehicles per kilometre of
available roads, a lack of intra-city divided-lane highways and intra-city expressways
networks, lack of inter-city expressways, traffic accidents and chaos due to poor
enforcement of traffic laws.Traffic congestion reduces the average traffic speed. At low
speeds, scientific studies reveal that vehicles burn fuel inefficiently and pollute more per
trip. Traffic gridlock in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata etc is
extreme.
Smog in Delhi is an ongoing severe air-pollution event."The Great Smog" in Delhi, a few
years ago, led to cancellation and delay of public transport, primarily trains and flights, causing
many hindrances to the people.The primary sources of smoke are stubble burning, lit garbage,
road dust, power plants, factories, and vehicles.
Mumbai is an overpopulated city with lots of construction and vehicular density, which causes
pollution. Due to the high population, there is terrible traffic and vehicles give off more
emissions when they are slow. Burning of garbage and cloth contribute to the air pollution.
ln Kolkata, one of the main factors for air pollution is transportation. Abundance of poorly
maintained vehicles, use of petrol fuel and poor controlling is making transportation the major
air-polluting sector. Besides, there are three thermal power plants in and around Kolkata, which
also affects the air quality. Along with these two major factors, some small industries operating
in the city contribute to the air pollution. Generators used during power cuts also contribute to air
pollution in Kolkata to some extent.
In Bengaluru, construction and vehicular traffic are the villains. Air pollution is connected to
industrial pollution in areas like Peenya Industrial Area near the city
