Post-Diwali, air worsens to ‘severe’ in parts of Bihar

AQI of Patna and Purnia rose to 500 (the highest level) around 10pm, apparently because of bursting of crackers on Diwali night.

PATNA Despite the ban on firecrackers, Diwali celebrations in Bihar had its visible impact on ambient air, which worsened to “severe” level in some of the towns/cities after 10pm on Sunday.

The overall air quality index (AQI) of major cities like Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Bhagalpur and smaller towns like Rajgir and Purnia hovered between 262 to 340, which is categorised as “poor” to “very poor” levels.

According to the central pollution control board (CPCB) data, AQI of Patna and Purnia rose to 500 (the highest level) around 10pm, apparently because of bursting of crackers on Diwali night. Likewise, AQI of towns like Rajgir, Muzaffarpur, Gaya and Bhagalpur was found to be 429, 449, 496 and 490, owing to heavy concentration of PM2.5 in the ambient air around the same time.

Quality of air has started worsening in Bihar towns for the past one week apparently due to dip in the temperature and declining flow of air. However, air pollution experts say the overall air quality deteriorated on the Diwali night as people resorted to bursting the crackers to celebrate the festival of lights. “AQI in majority of cities is likely to hover between ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ levels due to further fall in the temperature,” said Ankita Jyoti, an air quality researcher.

Bihar state pollution control board (BSPCB) on Monday issued a press communique, underlining huge presence of particulate matter like PM10 and PM2.5 in the ambient air. “The quality of ambient air depends on geographical and anthropogenic factors. There is presence of fine dust in the alluvial soil of north Bihar, which remains suspended in the air for a long period and travels a long distance. Reduction in the temperature and thermal inversion during winter season lowers the mixing height and comes very near to ground surface, leading to rise in concenrtation of pollutants and affect the quality of ambient air,” said the press release.

BSPCB statement further said that lowering of wind speed also affects the dispersion of pollutants from one place to another and burning of agricultural waste and other solid waste during winter season are another cause of worry for the air pollution. “Uncovered construction work, transportation of soil and other material by uncovered vehicles; indiscriminate use of vehicles, reborn dust on road, etc, leads the ambient air quality form poor to severe,” it said.

Waking up to the worsening air quality, the BSPCB had constituted teams for monitoring and improvement in the ambient air quality of the state. “It is learnt form the inspection reports of these teams that burning of agricultural waste, wood, coal, etc, in open and construction work without covering is going on in large scale in Patna and other cities of the state. These vehicles are not being used wisely also. These are making improvement in air quality difficult. The board is imposing environmental compensation against the violators and persons engaged in illegal activities,” said a senior officer of the BSPCB.

BSPCB chairman D K Shukla has also appealed to members of the public to stay vigilant about the quality of ambient air in their area and report any activities that might lead to air pollution to the board on its helpline numbers. People have been urged to report violations.