AQI at 372 , Kaithal records ‘very poor’ air
The air quality in Kaithal was in the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday, making it the only city among 258 cities of the country with ‘very poor’ air. The air quality index (AQI) of Kaithal recorded an average particulate matter (PM) 2.5 of 372 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, among the 23 cities with ‘poor’ air quality on the Central Pollution Control Board’s AQI list, nine including Kurukshetra, Jind, Panipat, Sonepat, Rohtak, Hisar, Fatehabad, Ballabgarh and Bahadurgarh were from Haryana.
The average PM2.5 was 277 in Kurukshetra, 256 in Sonepat, 247 in Rohtak, 236 in Panipat, 232 in Hisar, 218 in Bahadurgarh, 211 in Jind, 207 in Fatehabad and 204 in Ballabgarh. The air quality index in the range of 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.
With 15 fresh cases of farm fires in the state reported on Saturday, the number of farm fires in the state have increased to 642. While Kaithal has reported the maximum 123 farm fires, Kurukshetra has reported 90 cases, followed by Ambala (73), Karnal (68), Jind (49), Sonepat (40), Fatehabad (36), Faridabad (30), Panipat (28), Palwal (26), Yamunanagar (24), Hisar (18), Sirsa (16), Panchkula (14), Rohtak (6) and Jhajjar (1). Environmental experts said that besides paddy stubble burning, the change in climatic condition is a major factor behind the current situation.
Dr Dipti Grover, assistant professor, Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, said, “Besides the farm fires, the paddy procurement-related activities including transportation, unloading and winnowing process, increased vehicular traffic due to festive season and the climatic conditions are contributing factors to the current situation. A better procurement process can help in reducing the impact of paddy harvesting season on air quality. If the winds keep flowing at a decent speed, the air quality will improve.”
A senior official in the pollution control board said the Agriculture Department was making efforts to reduce stubble burning by motivating farmers and also issuing challans to them.
Meanwhile, Nirmal Kashyap, senior environmental engineer, Haryana state pollution control board, said, “The GRAP stage 1 restrictions are already in force and for non-NCR regions, the pollution control board will also take appropriate action. In districts like Kurukshetra and Kaithal, there is not much construction and industrial activity but the flow of air from Punjab towards Haryana carrying stubble burning impact, dust emissions and road dust are some major contributing factors.”
