Study suggests cities like Mumbai should adapt to regional airshed approach to tackle air pollution

Pan India study suggests regional airsheds can improve Mumbai's air quality by addressing local and external pollution sources.

A pan India study suggests that by controlling local sources of air pollution alone, Mumbai or any metro city, cannot improve its air quality especially during the winter months when pollution spikes due to both internal and external factors.  

Through this study, conducted by Sarath Guttikunda, founder of UrbanEmissions.info, a research platform on air pollution and emission sources, the researcher proposes dividing India into 15 regional airsheds [a geographic area where air pollution is measured and managed as a whole], each tailored to address the distinct agro-climatic and pollution patterns of that region. 

The study proposes that Mumbai city is integrated into a coastal airshed which includes all its satellite cities to effectively address and manage urban and non-urban emission sources. In this process, the regional airshed will foster cooperation among the Urban Local Bodies, which are influencing each other’s air quality.  

The peer-reviewed study, ‘Designating Airsheds in India for Urban and Regional Air Quality Management’, published in Molecular Diversity Preservation International’s Air journal, indicates that Mumbai’s air quality can be possibly improved by tackling pollution from both inside and outside the city.  

An airshed is a geographic area where air pollution is measured and managed as a whole. It recognises that air pollution does not stop at city or state borders—pollutants can travel across regions. As a result, effective pollution management requires cooperation between cities, states, and even neighbouring countries. 

Why Mumbai needs a regional airshed? 

Mumbai’s air quality worsens significantly during the winter months, driven by a combination of meteorological factors and pollution sources from both within and beyond the city limits. According to the World Air Quality Report 2023, Mumbai’s PM2.5 levels or fine particulate matter [a key indicator of air quality] rose by 23% in January 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, making it one of the worst-affected cities globally during the winter season.