The city woke up to smoggy skies on Friday, a day after Deepavali.
The city turned into a cauldron for polluted air, despite awareness campaigns by organisations to celebrate a noiseless Deepavali.
The smoke-heavy air came as deterrent for many morning walkers, who complained of breathlessness and incessant cough causing discomfort.
ADVERTISEMENT
The view from Kailasagiri summed up the grave situation.
A thick layer of smog enveloping the city was seen from atop with almost zero visibility, despite of a drizzle in the wee hours of the day.
Air pollution during Deepavali has been worse in the past couple of years, say experts, with Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) shooting up by nearly five times. The recorded level stood at 985.
ADVERTISEMENT
The high levels of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and toxic metals like lead and zinc also soar, which can further worsen respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis and also trigger allergic reactions.
The situation gets particularly critical when it rains.
“When it rains, it converts the gases into acids creating havoc. These fall on flora, fauna and come in contact with skin creating allergies. These toxic metals and gases also enter water bodies polluting sea, lakes and reservoirs and affecting aquatic life as well and eventually enter the groundwater,” said EUB Reddy of Department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University.
According to J V Ratnam of Green Climate, while such pollution is known to increase the risk for respiratory diseases, it can even cause lung cancer in the long run.
“Harmful heavy metals and gun powder apart from sulphur dioxide filling the atmosphere as a result of Deepavali firecrackers can cause large-scale impact. The risk of getting affected by pollution increases tremendously. The effect can be seen on the avian population as well,” said Mr Ratnam, who conducted awareness campaigns for noiseless celebrations of the festival at various places in the city.