Pune: Majority of days in 2020, 2021 saw 'excellent' or 'very good' categories in AQI: PMC reports

Pune: According to the Environment Status Report (ESR) for 2021–22, published by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Wednesday, the environment in Pune began to improve in 2020 as a result of the Covid-induced lockdown that restricted people's movement, and the trend continued in 2021 even as things resumed as usual in the city after the pandemic lull.

The majority of the days in 2020 and 2021 saw the city's air quality fall into the "excellent" or "very good" categories, respectively, according to the research. Although air pollution has increased, it is still below the level that prevailed before to the start of the epidemic, the report stated.

With the addition of 1,70,115 new automobiles in 2021, the city's total number of vehicles grew to 33,24,582. However, Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) compliance is achieved by 94% of new cars on the road. According to the data, 6,219 new electric vehicles were registered in 2021 as opposed to 1,450 in 2020.

According to the report, the number of users utilising solar energy increased to 3,211 from 2,669 in 2020, continuing the trend of rising usage. In 2021, solar energy produced 16,20,42,140 units of electricity, up from 12,17,95,622 units in 2020. According to the article, the PMC also established an electric car cell in the city to promote the usage of the low-pollution form of transportation.

The study states that the city made several efforts to accomplish the 17 sustainable development objectives set out by the United Nations (UN).

On June 30, 2021, 23 additional villages were added, making the size of Pune City grow to 519 square kilometres, making it the biggest city in the state. The research also said that almost 28% of the city's approximately 35.56 lakh inhabitants live in slums.