On Wednesday, Chennai celebrated Bhogi with great gusto. Residents burnt paper, dry garden waste, old mats and clothes which however contributed to smog cover and poor visibility in areas including Nungambakkam and Velachery.
Of the 15 stations where the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) recorded respirable suspended particulate matter, seven recorded above 200 micrograms/cubic metre. Perungudi recorded the highest – 262 micrograms/cubic metre. Meenambakkam came in second with 228 microgram/cubic metre, followed by Kodambakkam with 216 microgram/cubic metre.
N. Vivekanandan, who goes to Neelankarai to exercise daily, said there was smog in the area from 5 a.m. till around 8 a.m. “It was not suffocating but I could smell the smoke. However, I did not have to endure the acrid smell of burning rubber this time,” he said.
Seven other stations including Sholinganallur (175 microgram/cubic metre) recorded respirable suspended particulate matter above the permissible limit of 100 micrograms/cubic metre. Only Ambattur recorded 93 microgram/cubic metre.
However, this year, the situation was better than the last few years. In 2013, Virugambakkam recorded a high of 389 microgram/cubic metre. That station recorded 233 microgram/cubic metre in 2014 and 204 microgram/cubic metre in 2015. “The levels of gaseous pollutants including sulphur di oxide and nitrogen di oxide have been found well within prescribed standards. Low wind speed, stable atmospheric conditions and high humidity could have led to high levels of respirable suspended particulate matter,” said a press release from K. Skandan, Chairman, TNPCB.
The poor visibility in several areas slowed down early morning traffic. Ragini Ramesh, a resident of Choolaimedu, said it took her double the usual time to reach Nungambakkam at 6 a.m. “It took me nearly 10 minutes to cross the stretch near Loyola College. The air was thick with smog,” she said.
Owing to smog and the resulting poor visibility, about 30 flights including departures and arrivals were delayed in the morning at the airport. Departures to destinations including Bangalore and Delhi were delayed by about half an hour to little over an hour. An Oman Air flight to Muscat was diverted to Hyderabad and later returned and departed from the city by 4.30 p.m.
(Additional reporting by Sunitha Sekar)
