Firecrackers on Kali puja, Diwali deteriorates air quality of very unhealthy levels

Bursting of crackers and fireworks for two days on the occasion of Kali puja and Diwali till Wednesday, defying a Supreme Court order, caused the air quality in several parts of the city to dip to "very unhealthy" levels, environmentalists said Thursday.

The situation was aggravated by an overcast sky, light rain in some parts of the city and low wind speed, West Bengal Pollution Control Board chairman Kalyan Rudra said.

The WBPCB chairman, however, refused to draw any conclusion as to whether there was any improvement or worsening of air pollution during the two days compared to previous years.

Asked about the readings at air monitoring stations suggesting very poor air quality, Rudra said, "Our staff will collate all information and analyse. Our monitoring stations will monitor the situation till a week after Diwali and we will chalk out an action plan to combat any situation in future as the Supreme Court order envisaged".

"Due to the present weather situation when the sky is overcast and wind speed is low amid light drizzle for past two days, the suspended particles could not move up and hung around in the air," he told PTI.

The US Consulate's air quality index, which measured the environmental condition at the upmarket Park Street area in the heart of the city, showed particulate matter (pm) 2.5 count as "very unhealthy" at 211 accepted quality level (AQL) at 11 am Thursday "meaning everyone may experience more serious health effects."
Stating that there are some practical problems involved in enforcing the ban on fire crackers except during the two-hour window from 8 pm, Dutta said, "It is difficult to point out the exact decibel count of a fire cracker that has been burst, to pin point where it has happened and who did it in case it happens in a crowd."