Pollution Research Paper

Vol 40, May Suppl. Issue, 2021; Page No.(67-73 )

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANSING: AN EFFECT OF LOCKDOWN FOCUSING ON KOLKATA TO DETERMINE AIR POLLUTION BASELINE

AGNITA KUNDU AND SAMPURNA KUNDU

Abstract

Environmental pollution is one of the major problems facing the human civilization. The world this year has been facing a unique situation due to a very contagious disease with a high mortality rate called SARS-Cov 2. It is a viral disease caused by the virus COVID-19. One of the ways to battle the disease, generally called CORONA has been imposing total lockdown. The unprecedented lockdown had many implications. On economy, health, education the effect has been mostly negative. However, the effect on the environment has been hopeful. Due to total closure of human activity, the pollution level has come down to a minimum. It has become imperative to critically analyse the environmental conditions arising due to this unique situation. This opportunity was used to calculate the baseline pollution level of a busy city like Kolkata, i.e the minimum pollution that the city has to produce to survive. This was done by statistically analyzing the pre and post lockdown data of various pollutants from the automated machines at different sites in Kolkata installed by the Central Pollution Control Board. The analysis revealed by how much the air pollution of a polluted city like Kolkata has decreased. Time analysis study revealed that the cleansing effect has continued after lockdown and the positive effect on the environment may be sustained by taking effective measures.