Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 5

Punjab saw an overall 18.3 per cent lesser pollution, though the state’s air quality continued to be suffocating for the second year in a row on Diwali, with many cities witnessing high particulate matter (PM) 2.5, affecting breathing. Amritsar and Jalandhar continued to be the worst in terms of poor air quality and high PM levels.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has installed six Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh and Patiala to monitor the ambient air quality on a real-time basis.

Best & worst

Maximum AQI reduction was seen in Patiala (27.8%) and minimum

in Jalandhar (0.3%)

Two cities — Amritsar and Jalandhar — remained in ‘very poor’ AQI category

As per the data collected by the pollution control board, state’s average air quality index (AQI) was 268 as compared to 328 in 2020. Amritsar, where the pollution levels hit 386 in 2020, recorded 303 this Diwali, seeing a reduction of 21.5 per cent. The figure was 327 in Jalandhar this year, against 328 last Diwali, while Ludhiana saw a considerable dip at 289, against 376 last year, a reduction of 23.1 per cent.

In Khanna, the air quality index fell to 227, against 281 recorded in 2020 (19.2 per cent dip), while in Mandi Gobindgarh, it was 220, down from 262 in 2020. Patiala recorded 241 against 334 in 2020. The PM 2.5 levels remained a concern with Amritsar seeing over 800 levels on Diwali night, followed by Ludhiana and Jalandhar at over 600. Patiala and Mandi Gobindgarh saw over 350 PM 2.5 concentration. Anything above 100 PM 2.5 is considered threatening.

“The data has been recorded from 7 am on November 4 to 6 am on November 5 for Diwali. Overall, the cities of Punjab have observed a reduction in the AQI during this year’s Diwali,” said Karunesh Garg, member secretary, PPCB.

Meanwhile, the cracker ban went up in smoke in almost all cities where fireworks continued till late in the night. The state had restricted the use of firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali. “Several complaints were received of late-night bursting of firecrackers, causing disturbance to residents,” said an official. As many as 3,000 farm fires, among the highest in the past one month, were witnessed on Diwali night.

Alarming levels

• 800 particulate matter (PM) 2.5 levels breached by Amritsar on Diwali night
• 600 levels over which Ludhiana and Jalandhar stayed
• 350 plus levels in Patiala, Mandi Gobindgarh; anything over 100 is considered harmful

Average AQI ‘poor’

The average AQI of Punjab during this year’s Diwali was 268 (poor) as compared to 328 (very poor) in 2020. Karunesh Garg, member secretary, PPCB