Soars to 276 City’s air quality stays unhealthy, Diwali or no Diwali

 

 

 

The Government, the civil society and public representatives are blaming firecrackers for deteriorating air quality in the country as well as in Nagpur. However, the post-Diwali air quality of Nagpur city is more worrisome as compared to that on Diwali night. The latest figures post-Diwali have dismantled the propagandist narrative of the anti-festival lobby in the city. As per the National Air Quality Index data provided by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on its website, Mahal area witnessed ‘poor’ AQI of 279 on Wednesday at 8 am and on Thursday, it registered 278 at midnight. The AQI of Mahal area was recorded above 200 mark which is ‘poor’ for more than 40 hours in last couple of days. Similarly, Civil Lines area, which is among the greenest area in the city, also recorded AQI in ‘poor’ category with 259 on Thursday at 4 am. The Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) at General Post Office (GPO) in Civil Lines area also recorded the AQI at ‘poor’ level for more than 40 hours in last couple of days. Interestingly, the AQI of Nagpur city on ‘Laxmi Poojan’ night, that is Sunday night, and Monday morning was also registered as ‘poor’ but it hardly crossed 250 mark.

 

 

However, remaining two CAAQMS in city -- Ram Nagar and Ambazari areas, had 168 and 198 AQI respectively on Thursday. As per the norms mentioned in CPCB website, AQI of 0-50 is considered ‘Good’ with ‘minimal impact’ on health; 51-100 AQI is considered ‘Satisfactory’ with ‘minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people’; 101-200 AQI is ‘Moderate’ with ‘breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases’; 201-300 AQI is ‘Poor’ with ‘breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure’; 301-400 AQI is ‘Very Poor’ with ‘respiratory illness with prolonged exposure’; 401-500 AQI is ‘Severe’ that ‘affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases’. If one takes a look at the AQI of the above mentioned four CAAQMS installed by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in the city, the AQI was either ‘Moderate’ or ‘Poor’ in last couple of days. Therefore, it is clear that blaming firecrackers for poor air quality is wrong and the administration should work on other factors of air pollution in city during winters and specially during Diwali period. “If we analyse AQI recorded during last 10 days at all four monitoring stations, we can find a gradual increase from November 6 to 15.

 

AQI at 9 pm on November 6 at four monitoring stations were reported as 115 (Ambazari), 170 (Mahal), 195 (GPO) and 143 (Ram Nagar), whereas, AQI on November 15 at 9 pm have been recorded as 207 (Ambazari), 254 (Mahal), 231 (GPO) and 167 (Ram Nagar). It is a known fact that during the winter season, the AQI is relatively more as compared to other seasons due to the phenomena called temperature inversion and offcourse, bursting firecrackers during Diwali cannot be the only reason for higher AQI, though it does contribute to higher AQI,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder, Green Vigil Foundation. However, AQI on Diwali night at 9 pm at Mahal was 253, whereas it increased further in last couple of days and on Thursday it was 276. It was obvious and we felt it that during Diwali night, due to bursting of crackers, the entire city was covered by smoke and visibility was reduced with PM 10 and 2.5 emissions at peak. How come AQI did not shoot up then, which remains less than subsequent days, when firecracker bursting is significantly less. The functioning of these monitoring stations need to be checked and evaluated, claimed Chatterjee.