City reports poor air quality

Pune: The partly cloudy sky in the afternoon and thunder activity formation in the evening have led Pune to come under the overall “poor” air quality category, as per the data released by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)

Pune: The partly cloudy sky in the afternoon and thunder activity formation in the evening have led Pune to come under the overall “poor” air quality category, as per the data released by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

As per SAFAR, Shivajinagar reported a PM 2.5 particle concentration of 307 which was a “very poor” category. (HT PHOTO)

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) for Pune city on Saturday was 211 for PM 2.5 particles.

SAFAR forecast shows that the air quality may remain in the “poor” category for the next few days (from March 5 to March 7).

As per SAFAR, Shivajinagar reported a PM 2.5 particle concentration of 307 which was a “very poor” category. Alandi reported 300 AQI in the “poor” category and Hadapsar and Kothrud reported 218 AQI which was “poor” on Saturday.

The AQI from 0 to 100 is considered good, 100 to 200 moderate, 200 to 300 poor, and from 300 to 400, it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.

BS Murthy, director, SAFAR and scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), said, “It could be due to winds coming from Western areas. (ie Wind direction is from North West.) And sometime we are getting wind from Bay of Bengal. Whenever wind comes from North-West there is very less humidity and due to dry condition soil becomes so loose and because of high wind speed dust is transported in atmosphere and air quality becomes poor.”

As per the weather forecast of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, partly cloudy sky, thundery activity, lightning, very light to light rains are expected on Monday and Tuesday. While for Sunday, the forecast is mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards the afternoon and thunder activity likely in the evening.

The maximum temperature on Saturday was 35.2 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 16.3 degrees Celsius.

The day temperature is expected to remain around 35 degrees Celsius till March 10 while the night temperature will remain around 16 degrees Celsius, according to the weather department.