The quality of air in Lucknow has been labelled as ‘very poor’ once again, as both pollution and fog have taken over the city, enveloping it in a blanket of hazardous smog. While AQI rose by 19 points to level at 331 on Saturday in Lucknow, the AQI calmed to 281 units, depreciating by 50 points by 12 noon on Sunday. This calming margin may be pinned to the reduced vehicular activity in the morning, due to the weekend. Besides, mobile sources such as vehicular emission, construction work, bonfires in winter evenings, waste combustion and industrial emission are also contributors to the deteriorating air quality.
Poor Air Quality, a state phenomenon!
Besides capital Lucknow, several other districts from Uttar Pradesh reported receding standards of the breathing air quality. According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, the five most polluted cities in the country are from the state of UP. These districts have observed a 30-80 point rise in the levels of AQI, taking them to clock at the ‘severe’ levels of air quality.
As per the average of multiple AQI measures yesterday, Ghaziabad district emerged as the most polluted city in the country, with an AQI of 415. Following this by a close margin, Kanpur and Greater Noida ranked at the second most polluted cities with 404 AQI. Short by only 2 points, Baghpat and Bulandshahr tied at the third rank in India with AQI at 402.
The grading standards of air quality have elaborated that AQI under the ‘severe’ category affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases. By consequence, the reducing levels of air quality can develop as a triggering stimulus amid the raging coronavirus pandemic, which too, primarily attacks the human respiratory system.
