BHOPAL: Absence of showers and flying of dust due to damaged roads increased air pollution to more than double in a fortnight in major cities of Madhya Pradesh.
Air quality index of Bhopal on August 1 was 47 that rose to 94 on August 16. In Indore AQI was also 47 on August 1 that went up to 83 on August 16.
Track the pollution level in your city
In Gwalior the AQI was 32 on August 1 that went up to 96 on August 16 while in Jabalpur AQI was 41 on August 1 that rose to 78 on August 16, as per the central pollution control board.
Air quality index between 0 and 50 is termed as good with minimal possible health impacts while air quality between 51 and 100 is satisfactory but may lead to minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people. Air quality above 100 is moderate and leads to breathing discomfort to the people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases. AQI above 200 leads to breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure. Officials said the air quality remained best during the showers.
Officials said, dust gets heavy in showers and does not fly in the air. The vehicular pollution also gets down as tyres could not lead to flying of pollutants and dust in air, as it settles down on ground. It is the reason why pollution levels come down during rains.
Air quality is measured taking into account the levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (Nox), RSPM10 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. While the rise in sulphur dioxide is due to vehicle emissions, the increase in nitrogen oxide is due to human activity, including vehicles and sewage, among others.
Officials said PM 10 is due to dust, construction, including building of roads while PM2.5 is due to dust, human activity and climatic conditions. Of the four, officials said, PM2.5 is the most harmful to health since it causes severe lung diseases.
