NCR most impacted by ozone pollution, CPCB tells tribunal

OUT OF 57 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS IN NCR, 25 EXCEEDED THE PERMISSIBLE STANDARD BY OVER 2%, AS PER THE REPORT

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that National Capital Region (NCR) is the worst impacted in the country by high ozone (03) pollution, followed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The board also said a Union environment ministry's expert committee is being formed to study the health impacts.

In an affidavit to the tribunal, the CPCB analysed 10 major regions across the country for ground-level ozone. As per the analysis, there were 57 ambient air quality monitoring stations in NCR in 2023, out of which 25 exceeded the permissible national eight-hour standards of ozone by more than 2%. Whereas, in Mumbai, 22 out of 45 stations crossed the standards.