The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mysuru during Deepavali this year was in the “good” category.
The AQI was measured on November 9 before Deepavali and on November 14, 15 and 16 at the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board office in Hebbal. AQI analyses the concentration of toxic particulate matter in the air. An AQI monitoring station has been set up at the KSPCB office.
According to the KSPCB, the air quality measured between 0 to 50 is considered “good”. While the air quality was in “satisfactory” category before Deepavali with 55 AQI on November 9, it turned good on all three days, despite being the Deepavali festival when crackers were burst. The AQI was 36 on November 14, 33 on November 15 and 26 on November 26.
The possible health impact in this period was minimal. If the AQ is satisfactory, then there could be minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people. If it is moderate, then there could be breathing discomfort to the people with asthma and heart diseases. If the AQI falls in poor and very poor categories, there could be breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure and respiratory illness on prolonged exposure respectively. If it becomes severe, it affects the healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases, according to the KSPCB.
The AQI measured on November 17, a day after the festival, at 4 p.m. was 31 and the air quality was certified good with Ozone3 being the primary pollutant.
