Hyderabad, November 07: After all the festive firing and blasting, it’s now time to assess the damage. According to a pollution board study, the suspended particulate matter multiplied three times on the festival day while the noise levels which were already above the normal level at 77.8 decibels (standard 55 decibels) shot up to 86.
Deepavali is typically the time when pollution levels in all major cities jump manifold within a sinlge day. The AP Pollution Control Board has got down to collecting and analysing ‘ambient air quality’ data as per the Supreme Court order and has some interesting findings to offer.
The study focused on parameters like RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter), TSPM (Total Suspended Particulate Matter), SO2 (Sulphur Dioxide) and Nox (Nitrogen Oxide). The monitoring was carried for 24 hours in three sites and for 8 hours duration at all the stations. Hyderabad city has 21 air quality monitoring stations across all locations.
While AP as a whole has a high level of pollution, Hyderabad city has had pollution levels well over prescribed standards. Nevertheless, Deepavali saw a massive jump in particulate matter concentrations in the city from RSPM 65 on a day before the festival to 214 on the festival day, as against the standard 100 in residential areas. In industrial areas it rose from 95 to 146. TSPM levels surged from 189 to 408 in residential areas and 298 to 362 in industrial areas from 4th to 5th November. Noise pollution surpassed standard levels during the first two days of the three-day study.
“The concentrations of RSPM have increased approximately by 39 pc in residential, commercial and other areas when compared to Deepavali eve. In sensitive areas, the increase is up to 30 pc while in the industrial areas it is up to 38 pc. There has been a significant increase in the concentrations of RSPM and TSPM in the residential/ commercial areas when compared to industrial areas on Diwali day,” said joint chief environmental scientist KV Ramani.
The concentrations of Nox and SO2, however, remained within prescribed standards, being 4.4 (SO2) and 4.3 in residential areas. In industrial areas, they measured to 4.7 and 4.9 on the two days. The study pointed to a decrease in RSPM and TSPM concentration when compared to the previous year in all areas.
There is a marked increase in noise levels at residential areas as compared to the festival eve – 66.95 decibel to 85.79 decibel, both above the standard of 55 decibel — while the increase in commercial, industrial and silence zones remained marginal. In commercial areas, the noise levels rose from 81.18 on the pre-Deepavali day to 82.89 on the festival day. In industrial areas, it surged from 77.80 to 80.58 decibel while in silence zones the noise levels shot up from 75.46 to 78.60 decibel.
–Agencies