Advertisement

2 Air Quality Monitoring Stations Renamed in Mumbai

Amid rising air pollution levels in Mumbai, the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) has renamed two of its monitoring stations - at BKC and Chembur.

2 Air Quality Monitoring Stations Renamed in Mumbai
(File Image)
SHARES

Amid rising air pollution levels in Mumbai, the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) has renamed two of its monitoring stations - at BKC and Chembur.

This significant development came nearly three months after the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) claimed that its monitors did not accurately reflect the city’s baseline pollution levels and they must be relocated to cleaner locations.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s environment department had requested SAFAR to rename its BKC monitor as ‘Kalanagar, Bandra East’ and its Chembur monitor as ‘Patilwadi, Govandi East’. Though it initially refused, citing issues with data management, later it agreed to a compromise, the official stated.

The ‘BKC’ monitor is located just outside BKC at Kalanagar, which is in Bandra East. The Chembur monitor is located on the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) campus at Patilwadi, Govandi East, which is close to Chembur.

Hence, for the sake of accuracy, SAFAR was asked to change the names, the official added.

On Wednesday, March 15, both parties mutually agreed to retain the original names, with BMC’s proposed names in parentheses. The monitors will now officially be called ‘BKC (Kalanagar)’ and ‘Chembur (TISS)’. Interestingly, these two stations have been routinely recording some of the highest pollution levels in the city since 2015.

SAFAR claimed that renaming the monitors eight years after they first started collecting data would create confusion for citizens and for researchers. Anyone seeking to do a time-series analysis of the data would get confused. So, the monitors are now renamed keeping in mind both parties’ considerations.

Clarifying further, the BMC official said that the monitors had not been relocated, they are exactly where they were.

Read this story in मराठी
RELATED TOPICS
Advertisement
MumbaiLive would like to send you latest news updates