Air Quality Assessment in the Central Indian State of Chhattisgarh

Background: Era’s one of the utmost scourges is air pollution, owing to not only its impact on climate change but also its impact on public and individual’s health due to combined morbidity and mortality. Objectives: The current study was intended to monitor the air quality data from two districts of Chhattisgarh, namely Raipur and Korba, so that policymakers will be able to take corrective measures to control individual’s health‑related issues associated with polluted air. Methods: All air samples were collected from around Raipur and Korba city of Chhattisgarh and submitted to the Chester LabNet, a laboratory based in 3 Oregon, USA, for analysis. Particulate matter (PM2.5) was determined by using the gravimetry technique and used the X‑ray fluorescence 4 technique to detect the presence of heavy metals. Results: PM2.5 levels in all samples in Raipur and Korba ranged from 131.4–653.8 µg/m3 to 150.3–1699.2 µg/m3 which is 2.18–10.88 and 2.5–28.3 times higher than standards prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of 60 µg/m3 . Heavy metals such as silica (Si), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and manganese (Mn) levels were recorded higher than the standard level reported by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in locations of Raipur and Korba, Chhattisgarh. Conclusion: Although Chhattisgarh, a state in Central India covered with 45% forest, but it is suffering from low air quality due to developing township and industrial area, which is causing a lot of commotion in the local community. At this time, the government should approach to take immediate action and measures to control air pollution and to reduce the terrible impact on the health of local citizens.