Despite various restrictions laid down by the government this year for bursting crackers during the ongoing Deepavali festival, the air pollution levels in Bengaluru have prominently increased in the last few days taking the Air Quality Index (AQI) to ‘Poor’ levels in some stations.
According to the data available on the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website, a rise in the levels of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 and 10 has caused the lower quality of air.
While PM 10 was the cause at some stations in the city, at most others lower AQI was reported due to PM 2.5. Experts say that exposure to both PM 2.5 and 10 can pose health problems among humans. A comparison of the levels of these particles before and after the festival shows a distinct increase, indicating the bursting of crackers as one of the major causes.
Spike in average PM levels
At the station in Jayanagar 5th block, at 8 PM in the night on October 25, the average PM 2.5 was at 167 micrograms per cubic metre. This is a sharp increase from 57 micrograms per cubic metre on October 22, just before the beginning of the festival, at the same time. Similarly, at the Hebbal station, it went up from 55 to 133 and at Peenya it shot up from 76 to 101.
Also read: Delhi’s air quality ‘very poor’ after Deepavali but relatively better than previous years
The stations at Silk Board and Bapuji Nagar recorded a poor AQI on October 25 as a result of increased PM 2.5 levels. While it was 206 micrograms per cubic metre at Silk Board, it was 225 micrograms at Bapuji Nagar on Tuesday night, whereas on October 22 night it was 54 and 136 micrograms respectively.
Apart from Bengaluru, worsened AQI was reported from several other districts, too. Noise pollution levels also went up considerably in the last three days.
