A day after Diwali, ‘very poor’ air quality greets Hyderabadis

HYDERABAD: While the city celebrated Diwali in a grand manner, the morning after presented itself with ‘very poor’ air quality in Hyderabad. Even throughout the festival evening, the air quality index (AQI) was reported to be between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ across different areas of the State capital.

According to the National Air Quality Index by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Hyderabad registered an AQI of 351 (hazardous) on Tuesday morning while the standard rating is 50. The major pollutant in the region was PM 2.5 at 230 µg/m³ which exceeds the WHO guidelines of 5 µg/m³ by a huge margin.  

Sanathnagar worst-hit

As of 7 am on Tuesday, TSPCB’s monitoring station at Sanathnagar recorded the highest AQI of 351, followed by 211 (very unhealthy) at Kokapet, 194 (unhealthy) at New Malakpet, 184 at Ramachandrapuram and 183 at Somajiguda. The lowest AQI of 66 (moderate) was recorded at ECIL Kapra.The prominent pollutants at all these stations were recorded to be PM10 and PM 2.5.

Sai Bhaskar Reddy, Director of The Earth Centre, an independent think tank and premier environmental education and research centre, told TNIE, “Through the ages, fire has been a fundamental element which has been used for heat, security and many other purposes. During Diwali, every household decorates their houses with colourful lights and diyas. Apart from the crackers and fireworks, adulterated oils used for lighting diyas are also spreading pollutants into the air.” 

“Along with the pollution caused by the vehicles, constructions, industry and fireworks, the festival falling in the transition phase between the rainy and winter seasons, when the environmental air pollution is usually high, also contributes to the poor air quality,” Director of The Earth Centre, Sai Bhaskar Reddy said.“The lungs which work as the vacuum cleaners have already been weakened because of Covid-19. This poor air quality will further affect the health of the public,” he warned.

“Geographically, Hyderabad doesn’t have a natural escape route or buffer zones so urban lung spaces and the forests help in minimising the impact. However, the number of air quality sensors should be increased as it helps in collecting and recording data accurately, helping in the management of air pollution,” he explained.