The Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) has witnessed a steep increase of 70 per cent and 61 per cent in PM2.5 and PM10 levels, respectively, between 2012-13 and 2019-20, according to the latest emission inventory. The comparison of the earlier emission inventory (2012-13) with the current inventory (2019-20) suggests that the transport sector -- at 91 per cent -- contributes the most towards PM2.5, while it is the residential sector -- at 107.7 per cent -- that contributes most to the PM10 levels.

The transport sector contributed 87.9 per cent to PM10 and 91 per cent to PM2.5; the industrial sector contributed 33.8 per cent to PM10 and 32.9 per cent to PM2.5; the residential sector contributed 107.7 per cent to PM10 and 57.9 per cent to PM2.5, while the wind-blown re-suspended dust contributed 49.5 per cent to PM10 and 38.1 per cent to PM2.5, the latest emission inventory revealed. The residential sector includes cooking, slums, trash, cow dung, street vendor, wood burning etc. while the other sectors such as municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plants, MSW open burning, crematoriums, aviation, incense sticks, brick kilns etc. were among the many sources which have been newly added, so they were not appropriate for comparison, the inventory said.