City witnesses dip in air pollution
The city witnessed a decrease in the level of air pollution this Diwali. Besides, a minor dip was also witnessed in the noise level, though the level exceeded the permissible limit. The data for air and noise pollution was gathered by the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee from three different locations in the city.
The city witnessed a decrease in the level of air pollution this Diwali.
Besides, a minor dip was also witnessed in the noise level, though the level exceeded the permissible limit.
The data for air and noise pollution was gathered by the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee from three different locations in the city.
Apart from the day of Diwali, the data was collected a week before Diwali. The data was collected between 8pm and 10pm.
The data was gathered from three locations, which included residential, commercial and the silence zone. For residential area, the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee installed equipment in Sector 22 and for commercial area the equipment was set up in Sector 17. In the silence zone, the equipment was installed 100 m away from the dispensary in Sector 29.
For air pollution, the figures of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) were less than last year. This year, RSPM was 280 micrograms per cubic metre, which was 310 last year. The permissible limit is 100 micrograms per cubic metre.
According to officials, the level of RSPM in daily routine is measured between 140-150 micrograms per cubic metre. While the standard value of sound between 8pm to 10pm was recorded at 75 dB (A), which was 77 dB (A) last year.
The permissible sound limit is between 45 dB (A) to 55 dB (A).
UT director environment Santosh Kumar said there was a decrease in the level of air pollution, which was a good sign for the city.
This year, the department had installed its equipment for measuring air and noise pollution only at three locations. However, in previous years, the data was gathered from as many as seven different locations.
As per arrangements in the past, the department used to outsource the job to four private laboratories, while it collected the samples from three locations on its own.