Air quality of Chandigarh improves to ‘moderate’ level after Diwali
Chandigarh, November 15
Three days after Diwali, the air quality in the city has improved drastically. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped to 168 around 8 pm today and remained in the “moderate” category.
On November 12, the city’s air quality deteriorated to the “very poor” and “severe” levels on Diwali night. According to the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee, the air quality got worsened after 6 pm on Diwali. Around 10 pm, it was “severe” at the Sector 53 monitoring station and “very poor” at the Sector 22, PEC (Sector 12) and IMTECH stations where the AQI reached 453, 392, 301 and 360, respectively. The highest AQI in five years was observed at three of the six monitoring stations in the city.
However, after Diwali, the air quality improved in the city. The AQI was recorded at 225 at the Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) in Sector 53, which is near Mohali, while the AQMS at Sector 22 recorded the AQI at 154 and it was 125 at the Sector 25 station.
Last Sunday, for the first time this season, the average AQI of the city was recorded at 205 due to various reasons, including change in weather, vehicular emissions and incidents of farm fire in the neighbouring areas.
On November 10, the air quality had dropped to “very poor”. The maximum AQI at the Sector 22 AQMS was recorded at 364 and the minimum at 35, while at the Sector 53 station, the maximum was 368 and the minimum 72. At Sector 25, the maximum AQI was recorded at 299 and the minimum at 137.
Ravindra Khaiwal, Professor of Environment Health at the Department of Community Medicine, PGIMER, said the city’s AQI had improved as the dust particles and pollutants were settled down and sky remained clear during the day.
As this time Diwali fell in November, climatic conditions and stubble burning already had an impact on the air quality, which sometimes hit the “very poor” category, causing breathing discomfort to residents, especially the aged, children and patients.
