Howrah, from West Bengal, topped the list of the most polluted cities in India on Wednesday. Its air quality was much worse than that of Delhi and other cities in the National Capital Region, which have seen an improvement in the situation in recent days due to rain and wind.
Bhiwadi in Rajasthan was the second most polluted city followed by Kolkata in terms of the Air Quality Index (AQI), a color-coded tool used to monitor air quality in major cities in India in real time.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily AQI bulletin, Howrah’s 24-hour average AQI value at 4pm on Wednesday was 285, followed by Bhiwadi (267), Kolkata (266) and Delhi ( 211).
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On the AQI scale, a value from 0 to 50 is considered good quality air; 51-100 satisfactory; 101-200 moderate; 201-300 poor; 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe. On May 1, during the Covid-19 lockdown across India, both Kolkata and Howrah recorded AQI values below 50.
According to data from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), the level of PM10 (coarse pollutants that are seven times finer than human hair) at Ghusuri in Howrah shot up to around 852 micrograms per cubic meter 6 am and 915 micrograms per cube meter around 10 am on Wednesday. Ideally, PM10 should not exceed 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
“Ghushuri is an industrial area, densely populated with heavy traffic. We have asked the police and local authorities to spray water on the roads to keep pollution levels under control, ”said a WBPCB official.
Most monitoring stations in Kolkata registered PM10 twice above safe limits.
The level of PM2.5 (finer particles that can reach the lungs) also shot up from three to four in some places overnight, mainly due to the temperature inversion in winter that traps pollutants near the surface.
“Steps have also been taken to keep pollution levels under control at hotspots in Kolkata. Fire vehicles have been deployed at landfills to douse the flames that often erupt from methane gas. Leather units burning escarpments causing serious pollution in eastern Kolkata have been closed, ”said the WBPCB official.
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