Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is a large Indian city located on the eastern coast of the country. Chennai is known as a tourism city, especially for food as well as health tourism. Chennai’s diverse economy is made up of the automobile, software, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Companies including Hyundai, Ford, and Mitsubishi manufacture vehicles out of Chennai. Due to the city’s large industry sector, Chennai struggles with pollution. However, the pollution is not as extreme in comparison to other large Indian cities.
Now we’ll discuss pollution in Chennai in three different areas:
Air Pollution in Chennai
IQAir’s 2020 Air Quality report found Chennai, India to have the 503rd worst air quality of 4,744 countries evaluated. Then annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the country was 26.5 ug/m3, over five times the concentration of 5 μg/m3 set by the World Health Organization.
The main causes of air pollution in Chennai include:
- Vehicular emissions
- Factory emissions
- Dust from unpaved roads
- Agricultural waste burning
Like other polluted Indian cities, respiratory diseases caused directly by poor air quality are far too common in Chennai. Being outside is regularly dangerous for at-risk groups, and on some days of the year, Chennai is covered in a dense haze.
Water Pollution in Chennai
Chennai’s water pollution is caused largely by:
- Industrial waste runoff
- Sewage dumping
- Solid waste dumping
These activities have threatened the health of Chennai’s surface water, as well as its drinking water.
Surface Water
There large rivers flow through the city of Chennai. The Adyar, the Cooum, and the Kosasthalaiyar. The Adyar and the Cooum rivers are considered “dead” as they are unable to support any kind of life because they carry large amounts of sewage and plastic. The rivers are also very unsafe for bathing. Recently, the city has begun restoration efforts on the Adyar river, but has a long way to go before residents can use the water, and life returns to the river.
Drinking Water
Chennai’s drinking water is largely unsafe to drink. The Greater Chennai Corporation tested the drinking water in 2019 and found that around one in five samples contained E. coli. Chennai’s water causes health issues such as cholera, and typhoid for its residents.
Land Pollution in Chennai
Cheannai struggles with land pollution in the same way as many other large cities: controlling its solid waste. Chennai has very high levels of PCB in its soil. PCBs are a group of man-made chemicals that have been linked to cancer. PCBs in Chennai’s soil are thought to come from the city’s informal e-waste dumping area that is overflowing. Household solid waste often ends up in Chennai’s rivers, or in under-regulated landfills which also pollute the soil.
Key Takeaways
Air Pollution: Better air quality compared to other Indian megacities, but unhealthy air quality still causes health problems for residents.
Water Pollution: Chennai’s major river, the Adyar, is extremely polluted and unable to support life. Chennai’s tap water is unsafe to drink and causes disease for some residents.
Land Pollution: Chennai’s soil is very polluted, largely due to an unregulated e-waste dump, as well as improper solid waste disposal.