Hyderabad: The city’s polluted air is threatening to cause multiple breathing problems to Hyderabadis, more so for asthma and heart patients. Pollution levels in the city have risen from “satisfactory” to “moderate” over two days in the past week, as per the new Air Quality Index recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The city’s polluted air is threatening to cause multiple breathing problems to Hyderabadis, more so for asthma and heart patients.
Pollution levels in the city have risen from “satisfactory” to “moderate” over two days in the past week, as per the new Air Quality Index recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The AQI allows people to gauge the levels of pollution in their cities. The index will monitor and show real-time pollution levels in 10 cities including Hyderabad. It tells people what kind of effect the air would have on one’s health. Hyderabad’s AQI says that Sulphur Dioxide and fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) are the most prominent pollutants of the city’s air.
As per the AQI, on most days, Hyderabad’s air could cause breathing discomfort to people. On two days of this week, pollution rose to “moderate” levels which could be threatening for patients with asthma and heart-related ailments. Hyderabad’s AQI, measured at the lone station in Sanathnagar, was ‘satisfactory’ throughout the beginning of April. However, it rose sharply to “moderate” levels of 128 and 109 on Monday and Tuesday. Interestingly, on Monday night, the highest amounts of PM2.5 were recorded breaching the 500 mark.
Such high levels, according to the index, could affect even healthy people but would impact people already suffering from diseases.
On Tuesday, PM2.5 levels again reached the 500 level mark but at around noon it settled down.
Interestingly, Sulphur Dioxide levels in the city consistently peak at around 4 pm every day and then go to moderate levels before going down again.
Experts say this is in sync with the traffic volumes passing through the region every day.
Hyderabad’s pollution levels are almost the same as that being recorded in Bengaluru and Chennai. ‘In Hyderabad, air pollution is a major health hazard issue. Chest Hospital provides the Asthma in and out-patients growth with the time,” environmentalist S. Jeevananda Reddy said.
