The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has imposed environmental compensation totalling ₹16.33 crore (₹16,32,75,000) on 10 industries in Visakhapatnam for violating environmental norms and pollution control standards, a Board official said.
Air quality worsened sharply in December 2025. The Central Pollution Control Board’s Air Quality Index (AQI) rates 101 to 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 as ‘poor,’ and 301 to 400 as ‘very poor’. Of the 30 daily readings published by the Board for the month, 25 were in the ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ categories. None was ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’. The average daily AQI that month was 255, nearly three times the 88 recorded in October.
December spike
The daily and monthly data shared by the Board, covering September 2025 to September 2026, bear out its account of a sharp deterioration in December. A Board official said the Board stepped up monitoring and enforcement after air quality worsened that month. The Board found that emissions and smoke from certain industries were adversely affecting air quality, the official said, and directed them to comply with the prescribed emission standards, operate and maintain pollution control equipment effectively and prevent excessive smoke and pollutants. Task force teams inspected several industries in January 2026, found deficiencies at some units and issued notices. Air quality did not improve as expected despite repeated inspections, the official said. The Board then found that some industries were not complying with environmental regulations and the prescribed pollution control standards, and compensation was imposed.
From December 18 to 31, every reading was 265 or higher, with a peak of 347 on December 19. Eight days in the month were “very poor”, a category the Board’s own health advisory associates with respiratory illness on prolonged exposure. On seven of the nine days from December 24 to January 1, the index crossed 300.
January brought only partial relief, with 16 of its 30 readings ‘poor’ or worse. Across the two months, 41 of 60 readings fell in those categories, which is three-quarters of all such days in the 13-month record.
A seasonal pattern
Readings eased from February, when four of the 26 published readings were ‘poor’.
The data do not, by themselves, show whether enforcement or the change of season accounts for the improvement. They do point to a seasonal pattern. Between November and February, 51 of 116 readings (44%) were ‘poor’ or worse. Only four of the 266 readings in the other nine months were in those categories, all of them in September 2025. Across the 13 months, air quality was above the national standard of 100 on 259 of the 382 days with a reading.
M. Sree Ranjani, Joint Chief Environmental Scientist, APPCB, told The Hindu that the city’s bowl-shaped terrain obstructs the dispersion of pollutants and that heavier dust settles close to the ground. In winter, she said, a temperature inversion, in which cooler air stays near the surface beneath warmer air, traps pollutants and pushes up the AQI.
Pollutant levels across the city
The Board’s station records measure the concentration of individual pollutants, and they show that the burden was not uniform. In December, the monthly average for PM10 (particles of 10 micrometres or less) ranged from 144 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) at Sitammadhara to 237 µg/m³ at the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Building station. Ramky Pharma City (229), Gnanapuram (216) and Police Barracks (207) followed.
The Hindu’s analysis of the Board’s monthly averages from October 2025 to September 2026 shows that the 12-month average for PM10 at each of the 10 stations ranged from 84 to 135 µg/m³, against the annual standard of 60 µg/m³. For PM2.5 (finer particles), five of the seven stations with readings for all 12 months averaged above the annual standard of 40 µg/m³, by up to a third. The 12-month averages for sulphur dioxide and ammonia were well below their annual standards (50 and 100 µg/m³) at every station. The standards are defined on a year of regular sampling, so these comparisons are indicative.
Ms. Sree Ranjani said PM10 is generally the more prominent pollutant in the city because of dust-generating activities, including road dust.
Monitoring and pending study
APPCB Chairman P. Krishnaiah said eight manual stations monitor air quality in the city, and three more Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) have been set up for real-time monitoring. Besides these, five Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-based stations are proposed to be made operational by November. Ms. Sree Ranjani said four of the five units will be within the city and one at a hotspot near the port. This is the first phase, she said, and some sites may change.
Sensor units give instantaneous readings and can help detect local events such as the burning of waste, while analyser-based stations are scientifically more accurate, she said. Readings vary considerably across locations when data from additional stations are combined, she said. “The intention is not to show data and say that Visakhapatnam is fine,” she said. Board officials are reviewing local industries periodically and alerting the district administration on sources such as municipal solid waste and open burning, she said.
A source apportionment study by Andhra University, peer-reviewed by the Central Pollution Control Board, awaits its final report, she said, and the findings will be shared once it is received. Until then, the shares of industry, vehicles and road dust in the city’s pollution remain unquantified.
At a recent video conference with the Board on air pollution control, the Greater Visakhapatnam Citizens’ Forum had sought quicker integration of the new CAAQMS with the Central Pollution Control Board website and publication of the Andhra University source apportionment study.
Mr. Krishnaiah urged residents to use public transport, have their vehicles tested regularly and refrain from dumping or burning garbage and other waste in the open. He asked that construction and demolition waste not be dumped in open spaces and that vehicles carrying sand, soil and other materials be covered. He also asked industries, local bodies and all departments concerned to work in coordination to improve air quality and reduce pollution levels.
Published – October 10, 2026 09:40 pm IST
