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Bengal's Air Crisis: Biomass Burning Drives Pollution
26 May
Summary
- Southern Bengal and Bihar are now PM pollution epicenters.
- Biomass burning and waste, not industry, drives Bengal's air crisis.
- Sundarbans ecosystem faces severe threat from toxic air.
A comprehensive 25-year satellite study, spanning from 2000 to 2024, has identified southern Bengal and Bihar as the primary centers of particulate matter pollution within the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This research highlights a significant expansion of carbon pollution across the entire state, posing a considerable threat to ecologically sensitive regions such as the Sundarbans and the Eastern Himalayas.
The findings indicate that the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain, encompassing southern Bengal, Bihar, and parts of Bangladesh, consistently recorded the poorest air quality over the study period. A notable acceleration in this trend occurred over the last 15 years, with PM pollution increasing by 10%-40% in this eastern zone between 2010-2019 compared to the preceding decade. By 2020-2024, "carbonaceous aerosol hotspots" had spread across all of Bengal.
Contrary to common assumptions blaming factories and traffic, the study by the Bose Institute points to biomass burning – for cooking, heating, and urban solid waste – as the main cause of Bengal's deteriorating air quality. Despite improvements in urban PM levels due to the National Clean Air Programme, biomass burning pollution remains unchanged.
The Sundarbans, already facing environmental challenges like rising sea levels, are now exposed to highly toxic air. Researchers advocate for its immediate inclusion in India's clean air mission, criticizing current climate policies for neglecting rural communities and ecosystems by focusing solely on major cities. This air crisis is not isolated; wind patterns transport heavy aerosols from Bihar, Bengal, and Bangladesh into the Eastern Himalayas, impacting areas with no air monitoring infrastructure.
The study provides crucial evidence to compel the Central Pollution Control Board to revise its clean air strategy, which currently overlooks the significant impact of rural biomass burning and lacks adequate rural monitoring. Addressing this requires a fundamental restructuring of the national clean air approach.
