Day after Diwali & Kali puja, air quality remains 'poor' in city

In Kolkata, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading was 189 PM 2.5 at Rabindra Sarobar, 232 at Ballygunje, 290 at Victoria Memorial, 209 at Jadavpur, 255 at Fort William – all automated air monitoring stations – at 3 pm, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) data showed.

PTI, Kolkata, Nov 13, 2023 : Air quality remained ‘poor’ in Kolkata and its neighbourhood on Monday, a day after Kali Puja and Diwali, as a blanket of haze engulfed several pockets till late afternoon, officials said.

Such a situation was not only caused by the bursting of firecrackers on Sunday but also due to weather conditions during this time of the year when small particulate matters remain in the air with the presence of fog and smoke, they said.

In Kolkata, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading was 189 PM 2.5 at Rabindra Sarobar, 232 at Ballygunje, 290 at Victoria Memorial, 209 at Jadavpur, 255 at Fort William – all automated air monitoring stations – at 3 pm, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) data showed.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’, the officials said.

The AQI was 206 at Bidhan Nagar and 171 at the Rabindra Bharati University air monitoring stations at 3 pm.

It was 310 at Ghusuri in neighbouring Howrah district and 252 at Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district on Monday morning.

Even a moderate AQI, between 101– 150, is unhealthy for sensitive groups, an official said, adding that an AQI between 201-300 is very unhealthy for the public in general and becomes hazardous if it breaches the 300 mark, he said.

The control room at ‘Paribesh Bhavan’, the WBPCB headquarters, was functioning till late in the night on Sunday, while drone surveillance and mobile teams were also in operation at various hotspots in Kolkata and adjacent areas, the official said.

As per the reading of air monitoring stations, the AQI at 6 pm on Sunday was 216 at Rabindra Sarobar, Ballygunje (257), Victoria Memorial (276), Jadavpur (267), Fort William (255), Bidhannagar (243) and Ghusuri (262).

A WBPCB official said the sound and air pollution in Kali Puja and Diwali nights were less this year compared to the same days of 2033 and this year’s Diwali was quieter.

“Both the police and WBPCB worked in tandem to check the influx of illegal fireworks in the run-up to the festival days and this worked. We are assessing the available data now,” he added.

Environmentalist Naba Dutta said the pollution levels shot up after sunset on Sunday, as celebrations with fireworks began in different parts of Kolkata. Sounds of bursting of crackers continued even after midnight.

Deploying drones by WBPCB to measure noise level is unscientific, environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh told PTI.

“As per guidelines, a distance of four metres is permissible from the bursting point to measure pollution,” Ghosh said.

The Chairman of Sara Bangla Atash Bazi Unnayan Samity (All Bengal Fireworks Makers and Sellers Welfare Committee) Babla Roy said all crackers sold by its members were legal.

“The 125 decibels mark for sound had been stipulated by the Supreme Court. Do these environmentalists want to snatch the livelihood of lakhs of people even if they make and sell fire crackers conforming to all stipulations?” Roy added.

The WBPCB last month raised the noise limit from 90 decibels to 125 decibels for sound-emitting firecrackers, aligning it with the national level.