Quality of air in city remains ‘very poor’

PATNA: Residents of the city continue to breathe ‘very poor’ air as the air quality index (AQI) of Patna was measured at 386 on Tuesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), ‘very poor’ air quality leads to respiratory illness among people after prolonged exposure in the polluted air.
Patna was among 11 cities in the country where air quality was recorded under ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday.Some other cities on the list were Agra, Gurugram, Kolkata, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. Air quality in Muzaffarpur Gaya and Muzaffarpur was under ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ categories, respectively. While AQI at Muzaffarpur was measured at 395, it stood at 296 at Gaya.
Patna was jointly ranked with Agra as the second most polluted city in the country on Sunday (December 9).
The AQI is an assessment of the air quality taking into account eight pollutants, PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns), PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead.
The AQI score between 0 and 100 is considered ‘good’, 101 and 200 ‘satisfactory’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’ and 301 and 400 ‘very poor’. The score above 400 is categorized as ‘severe’ that affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases.
According to experts, vehicular emissions, open burning of waste and road dust are the three major contributors to air pollution in Patna. Household emissions stemming from the use of fossil fuel based cooking stoves also contribute to the deteriorating air quality.
S N Jaiswal, a senior scientist at Bihar State Pollution Control Board, said, “The air quality will continue to deteriorate in the winter season as pollutants remain trapped on the surface due to drop in temperature and increase in humidity. The cold winds are heavier, which make favourable conditions for pollutants to trap in the lower level of atmosphere.”