EVEN AFTER two days of rain, Chandigarh’s air quality is far from ‘satisfactory’ and still recorded only ‘moderate’ level. Scientists of Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee said that still there were dust particles in the air.
At the monitoring station of Kaimbwala, the Air Quality Index was recorded at 178 micrograms per cubic metre. The PM10 level recorded here was 217 micrograms per cubic metre while PM2.5 was 66 micrograms per cubic metre.
The AQI is satisfactory when it is between 50 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre. Before Wednesday evening, the time when dust haze engulfed the city, the AQI remained between 65-90 micrograms per cubic metre.
At the monitoring station of IMTECH, AQI recorded was 145 micrograms per cubic metre while PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels were 168 and 71 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.
In Sector 50 too, AQI was 117 micrograms per cubic metre. The PM 10 level was 125 micrograms per cubic metre while PM2.5 was 61 micrograms per cubic metre.
A senior official of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee said, “City requires more rain so that the air quality comes to moderate category. Before Wednesday, the level of air quality remained satisfactory. We are continuously monitoring the level.”
The dust haze had thrown normal life out of gear in the city. Due to poor visibility caused by the blanket of haze, flights operating from Chandigarh International Airport were adversely affected for two days.