Bihar’s air quality improves to ‘moderate’, winter delayed

Weathermen said a dip in maximum and minimum temperature has been seen in Bihar but no major change in temperature is likely in a couple of weeks

Air quality in Bihar improved to ‘moderate’ level on Friday, after remaining in the ‘poor’ category for a week after Diwali, said officials of the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB).

PSPCB’s chairman Ashok Ghosh attributed favourable meteorological condition for improvement in the air quality. (Parwaz Khan /HT PHOTO)

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Patna’s 24-hour overall air quality index (AQI) based on five monitoring stations stood at 172 which was classified as ‘moderate’.

Of the monitoring stations, Rajbansi Nagar and Samanpura recorded a maximum value of 205 and 255 respectively while Muradpur, Danapur and Shikarpur recorded maximum value ranging between 130 to 140. All these stations recorded PM2.5 and PM10 as major pollutants.

The CPCB classifies an AQI of zero to 50 as ‘good’, 51-100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 as ‘moderate’, 201-300 as ‘poor’, 301-400 as ‘very poor’ and above 401 as ‘severe’.

Apart from the state capital, other three prominent cities also recorded ‘moderate’ air quality with the AQI at Muzaffarpur at 196, Hajipur at 135 and Gaya at 117.

BSPCB’s chairman Ashok Ghosh attributed favourable meteorological condition for improvement in the air quality.

“Weather transition is slow in the state in comparison to the north region. Air quality tends to deteriorate in winter season with fall in temperature and low wind speed which obstructs dispersal of pollutants”, he added.

Meanwhile, Patna Meteorological Centre has forecasted delay in winter onset this year. Usually, winter season begins in the state on November 10.

Weathermen said a dip in maximum and minimum temperature has been seen but no major change in temperature is likely in a couple of weeks.

As per MeT centre, Patna recorded a maximum temperature of 30°C while a minimum temperature of 17.6°C, a dip of 2 degrees than the season’s normal. Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Gaya and Bhagalpur recorded a minimum temperature between 18°C to 16°C.

Weatherman Zeeshan Ansari, said, “Light to moderate fog was recorded at several places in the state this week. Dry westerly and north-westerlies are blowing in the state resulting in sunny days, however, a marginal plunge in day and night temperature is likely.”

Elaborating meteorological mechanism, he said, “Currently, no westerly disturbance is active over north India. Usually, two or three westerly disturbances remain active during this month which triggers snowfall in hilly region and dip in mercury in plains. Gradual decline in temperature is likely in the state but no severe fall in temperature is expected in the absence of active disturbance in the next 10 to 15 days.”