BMC to upgrade its dust sampler units at 5 locations in Mumbai for better air quality monitoring
Mumbai: BMC plans to replace its outdated and non-functional dust sampler units at five locations with advanced ones to record and analyse the city's overall air quality. The new units will also help BMC's environment department compare the air quality parameters with the recording of the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS).
BMC will spend an estimated Rs 35 lakh, which includes design, supply, installation and an eight-year maintenance period, on the new units. "We will issue a letter of intent within the next few days," said a civic official.
"Air samples are collected by the dust sampler units and manually sent to labs for analysis, as mandated by the Central Pollution Control Board," said another official. "We have dust sampler units at five locations, but the system has become outdated. There's also a staff crunch for manual collection of the samples. The new dust sampling units, which will be installed at Andheri, Deonar, Bhandup, Chembur, and Worli, are advanced and will also enable us to analyse criteria pollutants such as SO2, NO2 and NH3, apart from PM10 and PM2.5. More importantly, we will also be able to analyse the samples for heavy metals and hydro-carbons too."
"Samples will be taken after every 24 hours and sent to our air quality monitoring and research lab for analysis. These manual air sample collection units will also help us compare it with the CAAQMS stations across the city. So, in case of any doubt about the air quality from a particular region, we can also compare the two data," said the official.
"It is good to see that Mumbai's manual air pollution monitoring stations will be back in operation after upgrades. While continuous and real-time monitoring stations will help track changes throughout the day, manual stations play a critical role as reference points for ensuring the accuracy of data. A robust air quality monitoring system must combine multiple approaches — manual and continuous stations, low-cost sensors, and even satellite data — to provide a clear, reliable picture of pollution levels and trends," said Sunil Dahiya, founder of EnviroCatalysts.
According to the recent Environment Status Report of the BMC for 2024-25, the levels of suspended particulate PM10 in six out of nine air quality monitoring stations of SAFAR in the city, has increased compared to the previous year. Though Chembur has seen a marginal drop in its readings from 2023-24, the suburb recorded the highest level in the city at 125, followed closely by Malad at 104, and Colaba and Mazgaon at 96. All these regions have recorded higher levels of PM10 as compared to the Central Pollution Control Board's standard annual average of 60 microgram per cubic meters.
