Ahmedabad: More recently, the urban planning team searches for a number of air satellite images from Ahmedabad City taken since 1991, focusing on the difference in the normalized vegetation index (NDVI).
Index counting vegetation.
They found that Ahmedabad’s solid green cover had increased only 10% despite countless tree plantation drives, and the area borne by dust decreased by only 13% to 379.2 square kilometers between 1991 and 2019.
On the other hand, the area was built.
-Areas with buildings or construction – increased from slightly above 140 square kilometers in 1991 to more than 350 square kilometers during the period in question.
Back in 1991, about 440 square kilometers the surface of the Ahmedabad district was covered in dust which rose to 682 square kilometers in five years in 1996, and then gradually began to fall to 574 square kilometers in 2001.
Since then there is only a gradual decline on the surface of dusty .
This study was conducted by the Institute of Architecture and Planning, Nirma University.
Clearly shows that the increase in the built-up area of ​​the city has resulted in a decline in the overall vegetation cover.
“Such conversions have a large impact on city ecology.
This has a direct impact on environmental degradation and is also observed through the analysis of city air pollution data,” said this study.
The researchers are Vibha Gajjar, Utpal Sharma, and Hetankshi Shah.
The study also shows that the increase in the number of private vehicles, haphazard dumping from solid waste and combustion, and the release of industrial waste into the air is some contributors to air pollution in Ahmedabad.
“This kind of activity affects air quality, and causes the effect of heat islands to produce a temperature level up,” said this study.
It was published in the Elsevier Journal report called current research in environmental sustainability.
The study observed that the average air quality index (AQI) for Ahmedabad was 163 in 2014,150 in 2015,177 in 2016, and 180 in 2017.
AQI 2018 levels fell to 136 and in 2019 down to 136.
From 2020 to August the average AQI decreases dramatically to 105.
According to the norms and standards, the AQI range must be 0 to 50 and for average quality, it can range from 50 and 100.