Despite rain two days ago, Kolkata's air has started to deteriorate again. The air quality index (AQI) is approaching 100 in several parts of the city and has passed 300, the 'very poor' level, in neighbouring Dasnagar, Howrah, the Kolkata daily Ei Samay reports.
West Bengal Pollution Control Board monitors recorded AQI readings of 314 and 320 at two places in Dasnagar on Saturday afternoon. At East Calcutta Girls' College in Lake Town it was 190 at 6pm, 93 around Presidency University, 96 in Bantala and 103 in Barrackpore. Both PM2.5 and PM10 were well above permissible levels at these sites.
Environmental activists blame a sudden rise in traffic during the festival season and say strict traffic control by the police could bring the AQI down. They fear things will get worse if fireworks are not stopped during the immersion of idols.
Meteorologists explain that in winter the lowest layer of the atmosphere becomes stable, trapping fine particles near the ground, and that fog setting in as temperatures fall keeps them there longer. Experts also point to vehicle exhaust and the burning of fuel in the cold months.
Doctors fear a rise in asthma, bronchitis and heart problems among older people, children and those with breathing difficulties. Activists want traffic controlled and open fires banned.
Reporting: Suprakash Mondal and Debarghya Bhattacharya, Ei Samay
Photo: Arne Hückelheim / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Ei Samay
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