The Diwali day monitoring in the city on Sunday logged in a three-time increase in PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter) concentrations compared to normal day recording, while the PM10 levels went up by two folds.
However, the spurt in pollution resulting from bursting of crackers on the festival day has been on a gradual decline in the last five years when it comes to the key pollution parameters of PM2.5 and PM10. This Sunday recording of PM2.5 which stood at 71.6 micrograms per cubic meter is less compared to 95 last year and considerable drop from 124 micrograms per cubic meter recorded in 2014.
The noise levels, though a little more than last year, did not leap high this Diwali day as compared to any other normal day. If the normal noise level monitoring of residential areas on October 26 was 60 dB, on October 27, it was 64 dB.
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The Telangana State Pollution Control Board, which regularly monitors the Ambient Air Quality(AAQ) with respect to the particulate matter, gases and noise levels in the city, is carrying out a special purpose (Diwali) AAQ monitoring from October 20 up to November 3.
“The data of the CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations) on Diwali day for the years 2014 to 2019 indicates decreasing trend of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Hyderabad city,” the PCB points out. The noise levels have increased marginally in residential and sensitive areas, it says.
Hyderabad sees decline in Diwali pollution in last 5 years
CAAQMS data
The TSPCB carried out hourly recording of the average of the CAAQMS data at the six locations of HCU, Pashamylaram, Sanathnagar, Nehru Zoological Park, ICRISAT and Bolaram. The data generated from the monitoring on Diwali day showed a gradual increase in concentrations also higher contributions to PM2.5 from 5 pm and peaking between 9 pm and 10 pm.
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The highest PM2.5 of 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter, in the city was recorded at Sanathnagar between 9 pm and 10 pm and then tapering down with each passing hour.
Meteorological parameters
The transport and the diffusion of the air pollutant depends upon the dynamics of the atmosphere and the wind plays a major role in it. The gaseous waste or the smoke is taken away or diluted by the wind, the PCB said adding that the stronger the wind, the greater will be the dilution of the pollutant. On the other hand, stable air discourages the dispersion and the diffusion of the pollutants. Hence, the Air Pollution data need to be seen in conjunction with the meteorological data.
The average wind speed of Hyderabad in general is 2.8mts/sec. However on Sunday, the wind speed on an average was around 0.5mtrs/sec indicating poor dispersion.
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