Finance
Even as air pollution choking New Delhi, Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar is experiencing a significant drop in air quality following the Diwali celebrations on Sunday. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court put restrictions on the use of firecrackers this year and the Twin City Commissionerate Police released instructions on green firecrackers, all attempts to reduce pollution appear to have failed.
Prior to Diwali, Bhubaneswar’s average daily Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5 and PM10 values were in the moderate category. The AQI in Bhubaneswar was 80 in April 2023, but it rose to 142 on Sunday.
Between November 1 and 4, the AQI in Bhubaneswar ranged from 103 to 130. On November 1, the PM10 (particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less) level at Chandrasekharpur was 145 mg/m3, 104 mg/m3 at the OSPCB monitoring station at Unit VIII on November 2, and 140 mg/m3 at Khandagiri and 101 mg/m3 at Palasuni on November 3. It was reported to be 124 mg/m3 in the Capital police station area and 121 mg/m3 in the IRC village.
On November 7, reports indicated that several parts of the city had poor levels of PM2.5, another crucial air pollutant. However, the AQI declined significantly after Sunday evening, owing mostly to the random use of firecrackers violating all rules.
According to data made available by the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI on November 12 (4 PM, Average of past 24 hours) in five prominent Odisha cities is as below:
- Bhubaneswar: ‘Poor’
- Cuttack: ‘Poor’
- Balasore: ‘Poor’
- Angul: ‘Poor’
- Keonjhar: ‘Moderate’
- Rourkela: ‘Moderate’
Although there are no large industrial establishments in Bhubaneswar, construction activities along with the regular movement of heavy goods on National Highway-16 massively contribute to the deteriorating air quality in the city.
The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) also stated that temperature inversion, particularly during the winter months, prevents pollutants from rising and dispersing from the lower layers of the atmosphere, with PM10 pollutant remaining suspended in the air for nearly six hours and PM2.5 pollutant remaining suspended in the air for even longer.
While coarse particles might irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, small particles can go into the deep regions of your lungs, triggering coughing and asthma attacks, or even getting into your blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
