Patna’s air quality worse than Delhi and NCR

PATNA: Air quality of Patna has deteriorated again as the Air Quality Index (AQI) increased from 317 on Wednesday to 338 on Thursday. Earlier, the AQI of Patna witnessed a major improvement on Wednesday as it had come dome down from 414 on Tuesday to 317.
However, with the increase of 21 points, the AQI of Patna on Thursday was even higher than that of the entire Delhi-NCR region for the second consecutive day.The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin on Thursday said the AQI level of New Delhi stood at 309, and that of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram were recorded at 328, 325 and 284 respectively.
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The AQI is basically an assessment of the air quality taking into account eight pollutants: PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 10 micron), PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micron), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead.
The AQI of Patna has been in “very poor” category over a fortnight now. The AQI had even surged above 400 to come under “severe” category. As per the CPCB norms, “very poor” air quality can lead to respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, while “severe” air quality can affect healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases.
Deliberating on the fluctuating AQI in Patna, Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) chairman Ashok Kumar Ghosh told TOI: “The AQI is likely to keep fluctuating for a few more days owing to variation in temperature. Wind velocity has also not been uniform, which is not leading to disbursement of dust particles. Thus, local factors are keeping the AQI at higher level.”
Meanwhile, different departments and state government agencies have started taking steps to curb air pollution, especially dust particles and vehicular emission, in the state capital.
While Patna Municipal Corporation is using big tankers for sprinkling water on the major thoroughfares, transport department has also launched intensive on-the-spot fitness check on vehicles to identify those running with higher level of emission and using petrol and diesel mixed with kerosene oil.
According to a statement issued by transport department on Thursday, altogether 425 vehicles were checked at four different locations in the city, out of which 36 were seized and 61 fined for violating the emission norms.