Low atmospheric winds limited smoke to one area: Scientist

Panaji: Low atmospheric winter winds led to the cloud of smoke being concentrated in one area on Tuesday instead of getting dispersed. With the particulate matter shrouding itself only in and around Pilerne, the area’s atmospheric conditions are likely to be impacted, said meteorologist and retired chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), M R Ramesh Kumar.
“All the particulate matter which goes into the atmosphere can create air pollution and can have an impact on the atmospheric conditions in and around the surrounding areas,” he told TOI.
Kumar said that since it is winter, there is usually an inversion and the atmospheric winds are quite low, so the cloud of smoke was stagnant in the area and didn’t travel far and wide.
“Had it dispersed faster, its impact on the region would be much less. And, had it been the monsoon, the rain would have washed off the smoke particles and the strong winds would have diffused the pollutants,” he said.
“Even ordinary smoke can cause nasal problems so maximum concentration of smoke in one area can create breathing problems for people in surrounding areas,” Kumar added.
There could have been an increase in temperature or inversion in the duration of the fire. However, such was not recorded by the India meteorological department (IMD). “The fire was too intense, and the local temperature in just the area may have increased during the event. However, since the fire was extinguished, there may not be any significant weather phenomen,” said IMD scientist Rahul M.