This Diwali, air pollution in Hyderabad rises with a bang

Hyderabad: Despite continuous awareness campaigns held by the Fire and Police departments and the Telangana PCB, air pollution in the city during Diwali this year is increased by 23 per cent when compared to the pollution during Diwali last year.

This year, the air pollution levels have been increased more than 100 per cent during Diwali when compared to a normal day. On a 24-hours average, the Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 was 53ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre) on a normal day, whereas during Diwali it elevated to 112ug/m3. Sanathnagar recorded the highest PM 2.5 levels at 161ug/m3; though the standard limit is 60ug/m3.

PM2.5 pollutants in the air are health hazardous as the Particulate Matter of size is less than 2.5 microns that directly travel to the lungs and might cause respiratory and cardiovascular issues. “Diwali is known as a festival of lights and crackers have been a part of this day for decades.

If government wants to reduce pollution, they should ban the usage of crackers on occasions like weddings, elections, or other celebrations. But suggesting the citizens to not burn crackers at all on Diwali is a harsh step,” said S Anirudh, 28-year-old software employee. The PCB official claims that though air pollution has escalated this year, noise pollution has not increased considerably.

“This Diwali, citizens opted for noise-free crackers and that curbed noise pollution to a great extent. Noise levels are same for the day time average; it is 69 dB Leq for both years. However, the night time average shows an increase in noise level from 65 dB Leq in 2016 to 71 dB Leq this year, ” said P Veeranna, Chief Scientist Officer of Telangana PCB.