As Chandigarh celebrated Diwali after a hiatus of two years, the air quality in the city worsened post 6 pm on Monday in residential areas and fell to the “very poor” category. However, the weather also played a supportive role as continuous breeze did not allow the very poor air quality index (AQI) to sit for long and it improved over the night.
According to the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), the air quality during the day was satisfactory or moderate (below 150) at all stations. Even on the day of Diwali it was observed to be satisfactory upto 6 pm.
However after 6 pm, the air quality worsened and around 10 pm, it was observed to be in very poor category at Sector 22 and IMTECH, as AQI reached 320 micrograms per cubic metre and 307 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
Both these monitoring stations are in residential areas. “It was also observed that at each station, the AQI and noise levels increased on Diwali day in comparison to others. Out of five stations, AQI (24 hourly) was in moderate category in three monitoring stations (PEC 12, Sector 17 and Sector 25) and in two stations (IMTECH 39 and Sector 12) it was in very poor category,” Debendra Dalai, Director Environment, Chandigarh said.
However, the AQI improved to satisfactory level after 6 am on Tuesday. Dalai while attributing it to the weather conditions, added, “It is matter of relief that because of the weather conditions AQI improved after 6 am Tuesday. Diwali was little early this year, when the weather is not that cold, and it was quite windy throughout.”
The CPCC also observed that the AQI at all stations were better than the Diwali 2019 (pre-Covid) where no restrictions were imposed by the Administration. Even as the ban was lifted after a hiatus of two years, the Chandigarh Administration had issued few restrictions on firecrackers.
A statement released by the administration said, “It is heartening to see the positive response wherein the chhoti Diwali (one day before Diwali) was almost silent and the AQI was as good as a normal day.”
The administration further added that “On the day of Diwali citizens cooperated well with the decision of the Chandigarh Administration and most of the crackers were burst between 8 pm and 10 pm. There was improvement in the AQI after 10 pm at all monitoring stations and it further improved after 11 pm due to dissipation of the air”.
Monitoring of ambient air quality and noise levels were conducted on October 18 and on October 24 at five locations.
The downward trend of AQI over the years is a positive indication of awareness in the society especially among the younger generation including school children. Environment department has been making sustained efforts in inculcating the habit of green Diwali among school children.
Highest noise levels were found in the Sector 22 which was 76.9 dB(A) and lowest were found in Sector 25 which was 64.9 dB(A) between 8 and 10 pm.
