"Is Chennai an Invisible Gas Chamber?"

A brilliant The Times of India article was published on February 23rd titled, "Is Chennai an Invisible Gas Chamber?" In it, the writer discusses the myriad of problems plaguing India's 4th largest city. Notable quotes include:

"Thanks to outdated technology, Chennai's denizens are in the dark about the alarming levels of pollutants in the air they breathe. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's long-pending proposal to set up advanced Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring machines and a mobile monitoring system has been gathering dust."

"Among the eight air quality monitoring stations in Chennai, only two (Adyar and Anna Nagar) are equipped to measure particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres. Which means we are unaware of the levels of pollutants that cause the maximum damage. Moreover, the monitoring stations are only capable of generating data based on 24-hour averages instead of a minute-by-minute basis, which would tell planners about the impact different activities have on the environment. The 8 monitoring stations in use are operated only twice a week, giving data that is skewed. "

 "Experts say the city needs at least 75 state-of-the-art monitoring stations, especially since it has grown from 174sq.km to 426sq.km after an expansion to include new suburban zones in 2011."

"The last five years, say doctors, have witnessed at least a 30% rise in respiratory diseases."

"Also, as most areas with high pollution remain unmonitored, planners have no way to tell how they should tackle the problem."

"To monitor air quality , says a former pollution board official, "Chennai needs a monitoring station every 5sq.km.Through monitoring, we can map out high-pollution areas so that they can be improved by limiting vehicular traffic and prohibiting industrial activity ." 

 The goal of Leapsense is to tackle the above noted issues: lack of measuring, lack of public awareness, and an inability to make decisions due to inadequacy of data.