Kolkata's air turns 'poor' ahead of Kali Puja, state pollution board says not directly linked to fireworks
Kolkata's air quality turns 'poor' ahead of Kali Puja, WBPCB says not directly linked to fireworks
Kolkata's air quality nosedived on Saturday, two days before Kali Puja, as the index galloped near the 250-mark in southern and northern parts of the city amid reports of bursting of firecrackers.
The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), however, attributed the spurt in AQI to a change in weather, with particulate matter (PM) hanging low in the air amid a lack of moisture due to the withdrawal of monsoon.
"Even if there were cases of bursting of fireworks, those were negligible and cannot be attributed as the deciding factor behind the worsening of AQI," the WBPCB official said.
While the automated air monitoring station in Jadavpur in the southern part of the city recorded AQI of 242, the station at Rabindra Bharati University in Sinthi in the north registered AQI of 252, both categorised as "poor", the official said.
On October 17, AQI ranged between 179 and 185 (PM 2.5) at 4 pm in Jadavpur and Sinthi, respectively.
In both parts, which have congested residential localities, AQI was high due to a boost in construction activities, the official said, adding that PCB teams will be on vigil 24x7 on the day of Kali Puja on Monday.
He said anyone can lodge a complaint (about bursting firecrackers) with the WBPCB control room, which is being manned round the clock, he said.
In other parts of the city, AQI was in the 'moderate' category on Saturday.
In Ballygunge, AQI was at 143 (PM 2.5), while in Fort William it was 115 and in Rabindra Sarobar, it was 116 – all classified as 'moderate' in the environmental parlance.
In the satellite township of Salt Lake, AQI was 108.
On the previous day, AQI was 152 (PM 2.5), on an average, in Ballygunge, Rabindra Sarobar and Salt Lake.
Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said, "There have been reports of illegal firecrackers flooding the market before Kali Puja as the WBPCB and police have slackened vigil on the entry of non-green fireworks into Kolkata from hundreds of unlicensed units in South and North 24 Parganas districts."
"I fear AQI will touch 'very poor' and 'severe' categories on the eve of Kali Puja, on October 19... You can hear sounds of bursting firecrackers since Friday night, and the situation turned worse on Saturday evening," he said.
While poor air (201-300 AQI) quality causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, very poor air (301-400 AQI) causes respiratory illness with prolonged exposure. Severe air (401-500 AQI) affects even healthy people while seriously impacting those with existing diseases.
