Air quality deteriorates in parts of AP on Diwali day

Vijayawada: Air quality was found to be poor in Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, and other cities and towns in Andhra Pradesh on the day of the Diwali festival celebrated on Thursday.

The AP Pollution Control Board monitored air quality and noise levels across the state on Thursday to assess the impact of fireworks on air quality and noise levels during the festival.

On the Air Quality Index (AQI) scale, where major pollutants include PM10 and PM2.5, the following ranges apply: 0-50 indicates good air quality, 50-100 satisfactory, 100-200 moderate, 200-300 poor, 300-400 very poor, and up to 500 severe.

Accordingly, for PM10 levels, Visakhapatnam recorded 238, Rajamahendravaram 225, Kakinada 217, Vizianagaram 182, Pydibheemavaram 171, Chittoor 152, Anantapur 134, Bobbili and Amaravati 119, Vijayawada 115, Kurnool 113, and Guntur and Tirupati 100. The intensity of pollutants in the air indicated that the air quality in these cities and towns ranged between moderate and poor, reflecting the volume of fireworks burnt by the public.

In 2020, Pydibheemavaram recorded 177, Visakhapatnam and Guntur 118, Bobbili 116, Rajamahendravaram 114, Vizianagaram 110, and Srikakulam 104, with air quality in these areas being moderate on Diwali Day.

Regarding average noise levels (dB Leq) in cities and towns, noise standards during the day (from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm) are set at 65 dB, while during the night (from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am), they are 55 dB. However, on Diwali Day, peak values were recorded from 6:00 pm to 12:00 am. In Vijayawada, areas like Satyanarayanapuram recorded 102 dB, District Industrial Centre 74 dB, All India Radio Station 65 dB, and IMA 77 dB.

In Visakhapatnam, areas such as Andhra University recorded 80 dB, Siripuram 86 dB, Madhurawada 78 dB, and Zoo Park 74 dB. Other cities reported various levels: Srikakulam 88 dB, Vizianagaram 92 dB, Kakinada 78 dB, Rajamahendravaram 77 dB, Eluru 86 dB, Machilipatnam 74 dB, Guntur 61 dB, Ongole 88 dB, Nellore 78 dB, Tirumala 79 dB, Tirupati 88 dB, Kadapa 70 dB, Kurnool 81 dB, and Anantapur 88 dB.

In 2023, the average noise levels reached a peak of 69 decibels in Kurnool and the lowest at 55 decibels in Machilipatnam on Diwali Day.