Day after Holika Dahan, AQI nearly 300; pollution level triples in 3 days

Bhopal: The air quality of Bhopal was rated poor on Tuesday. The air quality index or air pollution of Bhopal has increased to three times in the past three days. The AQI of Bhopal was 85 on March 1 that went up to 291 on March 3. AQI between 200 and 300 means breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, as per the central pollution control board. As per the Madhya Pradesh pollution control board, the AQI of Bhopal in Paryavaran Parisar on Tuesday was 291. It was based on the 24-hour average values.Holika Dahan on Monday was believed to be one of the factors, among others, for the increased AQI in the city. Govt stated before Holika Dahan this year, the festival of Holi will be celebrated across the state with a message of environmental protection and social harmony. Citizens were urged to use cow-dung logs (go-kasth) instead of wood for Holika Dahan. Bhopal's Paryavaran Parisar, as the name suggests, has a thick green cover, which houses the office of the MP pollution control board in the posh Arera Colony in the city. The AQI of the city has sharply gone up. Officials said, damaged roads, flying dust from vehicles and increase in construction leads to increase in the pollution levels. Besides, bonfires during winters lead to air pollution.The AQI of the city has sharply gone up. The past two days AQI of the city, as per the central pollution control board, was 85 on March 1 and 100 on March 2. It jumped to close to 300 on March 3. Air quality is measured taking into account the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (Nox), RSPM10 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. Of the four, officials said, PM2.5 is the most harmful to health since it causes severe lung diseases. PM 10 is due to dust, construction, including building of roads while PM2.5 is due to dust, human activity and climatic conditions. Officials said, pollution levels come down during rains, as showers do wonders for the air quality. The reason why air pollution comes down during rains experts pointed out, dust gets heavy in showers and does not fly in the air. The vehicular pollution also gets down as tyres could not lead to flying of pollutants and dust in air, as it settles down on ground. It is the reason why pollution levels come down during rains, officials added.