With AQI recorded between 177 and 211, city air quality set to worsen in next few days

The fear of air quality getting worse in the coming days due to stubble burning and the onset of winter looms large over Punjab. A team of experts from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has been monitoring ambient air quality in the city at various intervals of the day and assess its impact on population.

Since 2020, environment scientists have been monitoring ambient air quality through sensors installed at the GNDU during the day while taking into account factors, including population, and weather changes.

The air quality in Amritsar has been recorded between 120 and 170 during the last three days. Today’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 177 (poor) in the morning through the air monitoring system installed at the Golden Temple by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).

The air quality worsened by the evening with AQI being recorded at 205 at 5 pm on Tuesday. Today, the AQI recorded in evening in the city stood at 211.

“The PM 2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) level in the evening in the city was recorded between 45 and 50 µg/m³ while PM 10 level was 205. The PM 2.5 in air are fine particles that enter lungs, causing several respiratory problems in population. While it’s important to keep these particulates in check, the overall air pollution levels during this time increase,” said Manpreet Singh Bhatti, professor, Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, GNDU. He has specialisation is in environment engineering and ambient air quality.

“Today morning, a thin veil of smog appeared across the district, leading to concerns of worsening air quality,” he said. Dr Bhatti shared that air quality in Amritsar improved in 2021-22 owing to lesser air pollution. “Over the past few years, the air quality has deteriorated again and combative measures are required to improve it,” he said.

With decrease in air quality predicted in the coming days ahead of Diwali, the environmental science faculty at the GNDU would conduct a survey of the city, with focus on combative measures. The fact is that air quality worsens during the months of October and November with incidents of stubble burning on the rise and due to bursting of firecrackers with the onset of the festival season.

To monitor the impact of air pollution on health of larger populations, the GNDU had installed two ambient air quality sensors (PM 2.5) across its campus, in collaboration with Research Institute of Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Kyoto, Japan. The PPCB installed one additional manual ambient air quality monitoring station at the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences where sampling of air is done every year. Since 2021, ozone is also monitored at various sites of the GNDU using portable air monitors.

Dr Bhatti said after vehicular pollution, solid waste burning was the biggest air pollutant. “Crop residue is burnt two months every year, but vehicular pollution and solid waste burning goes unabated throughout the year,” he said.

The average AQI over the past four years on the GNDU campus during the onset of winters has ranged from 201 to 229.