Patna air quality worsens further, residents in danger

PATNA: Local residents continue to have harrowing experience of air pollution as Patna recorded the worst air quality of the season on Tuesday. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city was 414 on Tuesday, which was third highest in the country, after Kanpur (456) and Lucknow (416).
The AQI breached the 400 mark after a gap of only one day. The AQI level of the city was 413 on Sunday, which prompted CM Nitish Kumar to convene a high-level meeting on Monday.Incidentally, the air quality improved slightly on Monday as it was recorded at 382.
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As per the norms of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), AQI level of 400 and above falls in “severe” category, which can affect healthy people and seriously impact those suffering from various diseases.
The air quality deteriorated at Muzaffarpur also as the AQI plunged from 369 on Sunday and Monday to 385 on Tuesday.
As per the daily bulletin issued by CPCB, the air quality in Patna has been in the category of “very poor” for over a week now, which can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB)’s chairman Ashok Kumar Ghosh attributed the deterioration of air quality in the city on Tuesday to increase in the number of vehicles following return of people from different districts after Chhath festival.
“The number of vehicles on the streets was comparatively higher on Tuesday as many people returned to the city on Monday after Chhath festival. As people ventured out on the streets to go to their workplace and educational institutions, it led to increase in the movement of vehicles. We have already said that vehicular emission contributes 32% of total air- pollution in Patna, thus worsening of air quality was bound to happen,” Ghosh told TOI, adding local weather factors are also responsible for poor air quality in the city.
The BSPCB chairman also cautioned people with history of respiratory illness to take precautionary measures in case of prolonged exposure to outdoor air in busy commercial roads.
“People with heart and lungs related disorders are advised to wear masks in case they are out on busy roads for several hours,” he said.
Deliberating on how weather factors are adding to air pollution woes in the city, India Meteorological Society (Patna chapter) secretary Pradhan Parth Sarthisaid: “The pollutants spread during Diwali and Chhath festivals are trapped in the cooler air in the lower level of atmosphere, while the comparatively hotter air is acting as lid or blanket in the middle level of atmosphere. The wind speed is quite low, around 3-6kmph, which is preventing disbursement of pollutants. The situation is likely to remain the same or it can even worsen with gradual onset of winter conditions; unless the wind speed increases.”
The AQI of Patna is in “very poor” category after Diwali and it crossed 400 mark on last Sunday. However, the BSPCB chairman was hopeful of slight improvement in the air quality in a few days.
“The implementation of instructions issued by the CM, including sprinkling of water on streets, phasing out vehicles older than 15 years old and strict check on fitness of commercial three-wheelers among others, is likely to start from Wednesday. Accordingly, we expect the air quality will improve slightly, but any drastic improvement is unlikely due to different factors, including geographical location of Patna,” Ghosh said.