This story is from October 20, 2020

Patna’s air quality drops from moderate to poor category

Patna’s air quality drops from moderate to poor category
PATNA: With the change in weather pattern, Patna has witnessed a sudden spike in air pollution and the air quality slipped from moderate to poor category on Monday.
As per the daily bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall air quality index (AQI) of Patna plunged from 161 on Sunday to 217 at 4pm on Monday.
Each year, Patna witnessed poor air quality in winter when PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micron) is found to be the major pollutant.

The BSPCB officials said the overall AQI of 217 for Patna was the average of six air monitoring stations at BIT-Mesra, Patna (263), Eco Park (141), SK Memorial Hall (148), DRM office, Khagaul (333), Planetarium (242) and Patna City (121). The CPCB stipulates that ‘poor’ AQI can lead to breathing discomfort on prolonged exposure.
Environment experts say it would further deteriorate in November and December depending on climatic conditions. The AQI mainly remains in the 300 to 400 range, from very poor to severe category.
According to BSPCB officials, geographical location of Bihar is a major factor for poor air quality during winter. “The pollutants get trapped in the region due to thermal inversion phenomenon,” one official said.
Pradhan Parth Sarthi, professor at Department of Environmental Science of Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) and standing committee member of Bihar State Action Plan for Climate Change, told this newspaper that the dust particles settle down in lower atmosphere due to transition in weather and high atmospheric pressure.
“Due to climatic reasons, thermal inversion phenomenon has been created in the atmosphere. The conditions can improve only by high wind velocity and rainfall, which wash away the pollutants in the environment,” Sarthi said here on Monday.
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About the Author
Faryal Rumi

She is working with the Times of India as a Senior Digital Content Creator on the Patna desk.

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