KOLKATA: If morning presentations the day, the PM2.five count at the first morning of the 12 months is an ominous forecast of what lies forward. The count for ultra-fine particulate subject of two.five micrometers on January 1hovered within the severe category all day and averaged 402, six occasions the permissible prohibit.
New Year’s Eve celebrations performed an element within the spike in PM2.five count with indiscriminate use of fireworks from 11.30 pm to 1am and beyond releasing large quantities of particulate subject within the air. This is similar to what happened in early November, when bursting of firecrackers on Kali Puja and Diwali nights resulted in the spiralling of PM2.five count that remained top until mid-December. With no main exchange forecast within the town’s climate, citizens will have to combat the effects of severe air pollution for all of January, and most likely, even February.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) that predicts climate situation and its impact on air pollution in main Indian towns, had on Monday issued a warning that any new trigger, in particular due to ‘open fireplace and pyrotechnic show (firecrackers)’, will make the air heavier and thicker resulting in fast deterioration in air high quality to severe-plus range.
Experts rue loss of publicity of SC directive
Environment activists noted with fear the loss of publicity and indiscriminate violation of the Supreme Court order proscribing fireworks between 11.55pm and 12.30am in New Year-related birthday party on December 31 and January 1. “The spike in air air pollution all over this time is routine. But air pollution of this degree is unparalleled. The state of affairs warrants graded reaction action plan (GRAP) from the air pollution controlling authority — West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). But the built-in action plan, including preventive and controlling action, has been sadly missing,” mentioned Biswajit Mukherjee, former regulation officer at WBPCB and a passionate environmentalist.
Environment crusader Subhas Datta, too, expressed concern that the blatant violation of the SC order would have a snowballing impact on Kolkata’s citizens. “The town will undergo for a minimum of a month for this one night time’s mad birthday party,” he rued.
On the first day of 12 months, the hourly PM2.five count at air high quality monitoring station at Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) off BT Road in north Kolkata hovered round 500-mark between midnight and 2 am. Thereafter, it stayed close to the 400-mark. Even the air high quality monitoring station at Victoria Memorial Hall, which presentations the most efficient to be had air high quality within the town, never plunged belo 350.
Fireworks apart, burning of waste — both for heat and to keep away from disposal — added to the air pollution. Realising the wish to act, Kolkata Police on Monday had announced a ban on waste burning, a transfer that has been welcomed via environmentalists. But they call for more measures like ban on access of vehicles into the city to lend a hand deliver down the PM2.five count.
“New pollutants are piling up on already deficient air high quality we are inheriting from the day gone by. We need urgent measures like Delhi adopts to once more deliver down the air pollution degree to a cheap degree,” mentioned auto emission consultant Somendra Mohan Ghosh.
In December, air high quality index used to be severe on seven days, very deficient on 21 day and deficient for only a day. It used to be reasonable on December 18 and 19, due to premature rain. “This is the worst ever December so far as town’s air high quality goes. There is no room for complacency that we are higher than Delhi. In truth, in most of the days, we are a ways worse than Delhi,” mentioned Ajay Mittal of Kolkata Clean Air, a platform for environmentalists and activists.
New Year’s Eve celebrations performed an element within the spike in PM2.five count with indiscriminate use of fireworks from 11.30 pm to 1am and beyond releasing large quantities of particulate subject within the air. This is similar to what happened in early November, when bursting of firecrackers on Kali Puja and Diwali nights resulted in the spiralling of PM2.five count that remained top until mid-December. With no main exchange forecast within the town’s climate, citizens will have to combat the effects of severe air pollution for all of January, and most likely, even February.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) that predicts climate situation and its impact on air pollution in main Indian towns, had on Monday issued a warning that any new trigger, in particular due to ‘open fireplace and pyrotechnic show (firecrackers)’, will make the air heavier and thicker resulting in fast deterioration in air high quality to severe-plus range.
Experts rue loss of publicity of SC directive
Environment activists noted with fear the loss of publicity and indiscriminate violation of the Supreme Court order proscribing fireworks between 11.55pm and 12.30am in New Year-related birthday party on December 31 and January 1. “The spike in air air pollution all over this time is routine. But air pollution of this degree is unparalleled. The state of affairs warrants graded reaction action plan (GRAP) from the air pollution controlling authority — West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). But the built-in action plan, including preventive and controlling action, has been sadly missing,” mentioned Biswajit Mukherjee, former regulation officer at WBPCB and a passionate environmentalist.
Environment crusader Subhas Datta, too, expressed concern that the blatant violation of the SC order would have a snowballing impact on Kolkata’s citizens. “The town will undergo for a minimum of a month for this one night time’s mad birthday party,” he rued.
On the first day of 12 months, the hourly PM2.five count at air high quality monitoring station at Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) off BT Road in north Kolkata hovered round 500-mark between midnight and 2 am. Thereafter, it stayed close to the 400-mark. Even the air high quality monitoring station at Victoria Memorial Hall, which presentations the most efficient to be had air high quality within the town, never plunged belo 350.
Fireworks apart, burning of waste — both for heat and to keep away from disposal — added to the air pollution. Realising the wish to act, Kolkata Police on Monday had announced a ban on waste burning, a transfer that has been welcomed via environmentalists. But they call for more measures like ban on access of vehicles into the city to lend a hand deliver down the PM2.five count.
“New pollutants are piling up on already deficient air high quality we are inheriting from the day gone by. We need urgent measures like Delhi adopts to once more deliver down the air pollution degree to a cheap degree,” mentioned auto emission consultant Somendra Mohan Ghosh.
In December, air high quality index used to be severe on seven days, very deficient on 21 day and deficient for only a day. It used to be reasonable on December 18 and 19, due to premature rain. “This is the worst ever December so far as town’s air high quality goes. There is no room for complacency that we are higher than Delhi. In truth, in most of the days, we are a ways worse than Delhi,” mentioned Ajay Mittal of Kolkata Clean Air, a platform for environmentalists and activists.
Kolkata breathes in poison on 1st day of 2019
![Kolkata breathes in poison on 1st day of 2019]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
January 02, 2019
Rating:
