The festivities of Diwali still seem to be chirping us up with delicious sweets and booming crackers continuing to rule of kitchens and verandahs respectively. While a few feel that lesser crackers have burst this Diwali, the figures speak otherwise. Sadly, a report reveals that the festival of lights witnessed the pollution levels rise in Vizag.
As per the information provided by the Pollution Control Board to a leading daily, the severity of crackers in Vizag wasn’t much on 6 November (the day before Diwali) while 7 November, expectedly, saw a stark difference with a much larger number of crackers being burst across the city.
In addition to bursting many toxic and loud crackers, people also didn’t follow the Supreme Court’s order which limited firing crackers only from 8 pm to 10 pm.
While it is known that the density of PM 2.5 and PM 10 shouldn’t cross 100 micrograms per a cubic metre of air, the figures in recorded Vizag suggest alarming levels of pollution on Diwali.
| Time (in pm) | PM (2.5) | PM (10) |
| 6 | 42 | 69 |
| 7 | 471 | 577 |
| 8 | 985 | 985 |
| 9 | 534 | 585 |
| 10 | 397 | 507 |
| 11 | 985 | 985 |
Adding further to the concern, it has been revealed that harmful gases like Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide crossed the permissible levels in the air.
The sound pollution too was recorded on high levels on Diwali in Vizag. While Kurupam market recorded the highest levels with 108.6 decibels on the scale, Pandurangapuram, RTC Complex, and Jagadamba Junction followed suit with 106.7 dB, 101.5 dB, and 96.9 dB respectively. Also, the areas of KGH and St Anthony’s High School in Vizag, which are considered to be sensitive to pollution, recorded worrying levels of sound pollution.
News Credits- Eenadu
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