Air quality deteriorates to ‘poor’ category in Kolkata and Howrah

The air quality in Kolkata and in the twin city of Howrah was poor on Wednesday morning an official said reported news agency PTIThe air quality index AQI was 200 PM 25 at 9 am at the air monitoring station at Jadavpur and 141 PM 25 at Ballygunge an official of West Bengal Pollution Control Board WBPCB saidAt Rabindra Bharati University in the Sinthi area the AQI was 142 while it was 165 at New Town the satellite township near Kolkata reported PTIWhile the AQI was 150 at Fort William at 9 am in the nearby green zone Victoria the AQI level remained at 242 he saidAt the Rabindra Sarobar air monitoring station the AQI was 128 at 9 amOn Tuesday the AQI at Jadavpur was 207 while at Ballygunge it was 213 both considerably higher than 159 and 134 respectively on Monday midnightAt Belur in Howrah on Tuesday midnight the AQI was 213 while it was 195 even in the supposedly green buffer belt of Shibpur Botanical Gardens area in Howrah reported PTIAt the industrial town of Ghusuri in Howrah the AQI was 179 at 9 amAn AQI between 151 and 200 is considered poor 201 to 300 very poor and above 300 is classified as severeEnvironmentalists claimed that particulate matters hung in the air after firecrackers were burst till midnight across the metropolis both on Monday and Tuesday reported PTIWorsening of AQI cannot be directly linked to bursting of firecrackers which was less than last year Also green fireworks ratified by NEERI were used mostly the official said reported PTIAlso we have to establish the relation between sound and air pollution as soundgenerating fireworks dont necessarily cause air pollution and if the fireworks bursting triggered any rise in AQI that cannot be linked to bursting of crackers Most of the fireworks sold and used in this Kali PujaDiwali have been certified by NEERI the official said reported PTIAny worsening of AQI can be attributed to the weather with pollutants hanging in the air amid hot and humid conditions in the absence of rain or southerly winds the WBPCB official said adding they were analysing the results reported PTIEnvironmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh alleged that loud firecrackers were burst in Kolkata and Howrah on both Monday and Tuesday evenings till midnight hours far beyond the 8 pm10 pm window given by the PCB reported PTIPollutants hung in the air till Wednesday noon after the frenzied celebrations with pets and newborns shaken by loud sounds Highdecibel firecrackers were burst everywhere in the city he said reported PTINaba Dutta of Sabuj Manch an organisation of environmentalists also blamed police and the pollution watchdog for having failed to enforce regulations leaving elderly citizens ailing persons children and pets exposed to sound and air pollution reported PTIOur monitoring team found fireworks bursting in the silence zone areas like R G Kar Hospital surroundings throughout the Kali PujaDiwali nights he saidWith inputs from PTI