Bhubaneswar Records Jump in Air Pollution Due to Diwali Firecrackers

Bhubaneswar: Like Delhi, Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar also witnessed a drastic rise in air pollution because of bursting o firecrackers for the Diwali celebrations on Sunday.

Before Diwali, the average daily Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5 and PM10 levels in Bhubaneswar were within the moderate range. In April 2023, the AQI in Bhubaneswar was 80, but it jumped to 142 on Sunday.

In Bhubaneswar, the AQI was in the range of 103 to 130 between November 1 and 4. The PM10 (particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less) stood at 145mg/m3 at Chandrasekharpur on November 1, 104 mg/m3 at the monitoring station of OSPCB at Unit VIII on November 2, and 140 mg/m3 at Khandagiri and 101 mg/m3 at Palasuni on November 3. It was found to be 124 mg/m3 and 121 mg/m3 on November 4 at the Capital police station area and IRC village respectively.

The level of PM2.5, another major pollutant in the air, was also said to be poor in parts of the city on November 7. However, the AQI has dropped drastically after Sunday evening due to firecrackers.

The AQI on November 12 (4 PM, Average of past 24 hours) in five prominent Odisha cities is as below:

Bhubaneswar: ‘Poor’

Cuttack: ‘Poor’

Balasore: ‘Poor’

Angul: ‘Poor’

Keonjhar: ‘Moderate’

Rourkela: ‘Moderate’