The Smog!

The recent report on deteriorating air quality of Jammu and Kashmir is really a matter of concern. The air we are breathing is unclean and suffocating.

The report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has pointed towards rising air pollution in J&K. As per the satellite based data, the districts lying in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are major contributors of air pollution.

The report ‘India Satellite Data Assessment Part 1’ shows J&K among northern Indian regions including Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand), where annual PM2.5 concentrations on average surpass the NAAQS limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) mostly in winter, summer and post monsoon periods. This surpasses the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline of 5 μg/m³. This has triggered massive health risks from chronic exposure to polluted air.

The report states that the persistence of high PM2.5 in the northern region, including J&K, challenges seasonal policy measures and requires year-round action.

The report advocates clean air planning to district-level action plans, leveraging satellite data to identify pollution hotspots. The report recommends airshed-based management to tackle cross-state pollution flows.

J&K, especially Kashmir, is draped with a thick layer of smog from the last two weeks. The pollutants fill up the air and reduce visibility.

Weather experts have forecast that temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir and northern India are expected to dip further in the coming weeks; while minimum temperatures are likely to drop more, and foggy conditions will intensify. It is clear that earlier than usual temperature decline has led to denser and more widespread fog. This dense fog traps pollutants close to the ground and sharply reduces visibility. The problem gets compounded in absence of strict enforcement of emission standards for industries and vehicles and complete elimination of crop-residue burning. Experts term the pollutants laden smog as the slow death of vital human systems.”

We have seen how over the years thick layers of smoke triggered by mustard harvest stubble burning engulfs the atmosphere in Kashmir. Covered by mountains, Kashmir valley has been facing an onslaught of air pollution for the last few decades. A matter of concern, air pollution is taking a toll on the health of people. Studies have established that rising air pollution levels are one of the major causes of rising cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Stubble burning releases harmful greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide in high volumes. Stubble burning over the years has spelt doom in the national capital Delhi.

We need to understand the topography of Kashmir. The valley is bound by Pir Panjal and Greater Himalayan mountain ranges, these mountains lock the valley and prevent air masses from escaping, resulting in a rise in air pollutants. Temperature inversion in autumn and winter restricts vertical mixing of air and triggers build-up of haze primarily comprising dust PM10 and PM2.5 and smoke mostly black carbon. The PM2.5 concentration in Srinagar’s air on January 9, 2023 reached 28.2 µg/m³, which is 5.6 times over the World Health Organisation’s air quality values.

A byproduct of temperature inversions in Kashmir is a build-up of haze—an aerosol mixture composed of fine particles found in smog, smoke, and dust. The trapped aerosols absorb and scatter incoming sunlight, creating a layer of poor visibility. Srinagar is the largest contributor of smog, smoke, and other human-caused aerosols in Kashmir.

Rising air pollution levels even caught the attention of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), America’s civil space programme and it released a satellite picture of Kashmir Valley shrouded by haze in 2022. Experts have been attributing prevalence of haze and smog to crop burning and temperature inversion phenomenon.

What is alarming is that traces of Black Carbon (BC), a component of particulate matter (PM) in air, have been found in glaciers of Kashmir. Most of the glaciers in Kashmir are retreating fast due to rising temperatures and pollution levels. Studies reveal that Kashmir has three times more black carbon in the atmosphere than neighbouring states.

Health experts have been raising alarm over deteriorating air quality especially in Kashmir. As per a comprehensive study in Lancet, around 10, 000 deaths in J&K annually upto 2019 are attributed to air pollution. Black carbon has even polluted the pristine environs of world famous ski resort Gulmarg in north Kashmir. As per a study ‘Black carbon in contrasting environments in India: Temporal variability’, air quality is deteriorating fast in Gulmarg due to increased human, mechanical interventions and movement of diesel run vehicles.

Rising air pollution level in catchment areas of Dachigam National Park is posing risk to wild animals especially critically endangered Hangul.

Kashmir is witnessing massive ill-effects of climate change. We are witnessing erratic weather fluctuations, heavy rains and hailstorms. What more indicators we need to understand the damage we have done to our fragile environment. Instead of mitigation measures, we are adding to the climate change phenomenon by contributing to air pollution.

We need to wake up before it’s too late! Otherwise the day is not far away when we will gasp for breath!

Author is Executive Editor,

Greater Kashmir