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Air Pollution

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases, solid particles, or liquid droplets.
Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of emissions from factories, cars, planes, or aerosol cans. Second-hand cigarette smoke is also considered air pollution. These man-made sources of pollution are called anthropogenic sources.
Some types of air pollution, such as smoke from wildfires or ash from volcanoes, occur naturally. These are called natural sources. Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated. Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog. The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and "fog."
Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt.

15.1 Air Quality

The urban centers in the State have witnessed a significant increase in the number of industries in the small and medium sectors and also in the number of vehicles during the past decade. As a result, there has been a significant change in the quality of air in most of the urban centers. The quality of air is determined in terms of identified parameters such as Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Carbon mono-oxide (CO), Lead (Pb), Respiratory Particulate Matter (RPM), etc. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) notified National Ambient Air Quality Standard with regard to SPM, SO2, NO2, CO, Pb, RPM for Industrial area, Residential, Rural & other areas and for Sensitive areas.

15.1.1 Available Data Set

First available data on air quality monitoring in the State dates back to the Capital City of Agartala in December 1986. Subsequently the Tripura State Pollution Control Board monitored air quality in forty-one selected stations during October-November 1997. Presently the Tripura State Pollution Control Board monitors the air quality of the State at regualr interval and also have installed a continous air quality monitoring station at Gorkhabasti, Agartala.

Tripura State Pollution Control Board has over the year kept track of the Air Quality of the State. During the festive seasons there is an increase in Air Pollution. Keeping that into view the Tripura State Pollution Control Board monitors the Air Quality and publishes report on the findings. Table below shows the findings for the year 2020

Table-: Air Quality data of four districts of Tripura during Deepabali Festival 2020

Sl.No. Monitoring
Locations		 Measured (Time Weighted) STANDARD (24 Hrs.)
SOx (μg/m3) NOx (μg/m3) PM10 (μg/m3) PM2.5 (μg/m3) SOx (μg/m3) NOx (μg/m3) PM10 (μg/m3) PM2.5 (μg/m3)
1. Kunjaban at TSPCB Office Complex, Agartala 11.50 7.3 166.9 156.4 80 80 100 60
2. Bipani bitan, Bordowali 3.2 21.8 224.2 199.4 80 80 100 60
3. Nagar Panchayet Office, Udaipur 3.1 14.8 102.8 68.7 80 80 100 60
4. Ambassa Bazaar, Dhalai 1.6 12.3 49.9 48.2 80 80 100 60
5. Dharmanagar Motor Stand, North Tripura 2.1 13.2 65.3 57.9 80 80 100 60