Hyderabad air quality good, finds CPCB

Hyderabad: Hyderabad gets a green signal for 24-hour average pollution levels as reported by the data collected by Central Pollution Control Board. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of the city was 36 which comes under the ‘good’ category set by the board. 

The air quality index monitors prominent pollutants that are harmful for one’s health such as PM2.5 and PM10. 

Thiruvananthapuram was considered to be the least polluted city with an average of 13. Most cities in the south came under the satisfactory level. However, a few cities in the north such as Ghaziabad had an average of 720 and Delhi had 502 making their air quality fall under the ‘severe’ category that needs immediate attention. 

TSPCB officials claimed that the daily average can be maintained with cooperation from citizens. P Veeranna, a senior scientist, said, “Particulate matter is highly dangerous to one’s health and it can be controlled with less burning of items and also by less vehicular usage.”

Meanwhile, the depression in the Bay of Bengal has led to more moisture retainment in the air of Telangana and citizens have been asked not to add the suspended particles in the air by burning waste material. 

Environmentalists said that citizens have to play their part to ensure that the air quality is maintained. Nandini Rao, an environmentalist, said, “Mixing harmful gases causes smog which is a crucial problem in the national capital at present and citizens should ensure that the same does not arise here.”