Patnaites breathing in 'very poor' air

Patna: Patnaites will breathe in “poisonous” air on Diwali on Sunday.

The city is staring at alarmingly higher levels of air pollution with its air quality index (AQI), released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Friday, standing at 309, which is in the “very poor” range. Patna in fact ranked fifth in the country in terms of highest AQI index.

The AQI is an assessment of the air quality taking into account eight pollutants: PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micron), PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micron), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead.

Prolonged exposure to the “very poor” level of air quality can cause respiratory disorders. PM2.5, ultra-fine particles of less than 2.5 microns which invade human lungs and cause cancer, is the prominent pollutant in Patna, said the CPCB’s daily AQI bulletin.

Environment experts on Saturday feared the AQI level would further surge when crackers would be burned as part of Diwali celebrations. “Burning of firecrackers leads to increase in the level of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Since the level of PM2.5 in the city is already high, the AQI level is most likely to be even higher during Diwali celebrations,” said Ashok Ghosh, chairman of the state-level expert appraisal committee, the technical committee of State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority, on Saturday.

Asked about the measures being taken to curb air pollution on Diwali, a senior Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) scientist said the air quality would be monitored and reports sent to the district administration for necessary action.

The Patna district administration has already launched a campaign, ‘Say no to crackers’ under which students from many city schools have pledged not to burn crackers this Diwali.

Air pollution, primarily higher level of Respiratory Suspended Particulate Matter, has been a cause of concern in Patna even on normal days. The World Health Organisation recently identified Patna as the sixth most polluted city in the world in terms of PM2.5 level.

Incidentally, the BSPCB in its advisory issued on December 14 last year had stated that the AQI of Patna crossed 400-mark in November- December, smashing all past records in the state capital.