As people head to native for Sankranti, vehicular movement reduced
Hyderabad: The thinning of vehicular movement on the city roads, with many having left for their native places to celebrate Sankranti during the last four days, has resulted in a dip in pollution levels in the city.
Most of the city streets and roads were bereft of the usual traffic between January 14 and 16, with some of the otherwise busy road stretches wearing a deserted look. The drop in the vehicular movement, a major contributor for the city pollution, had those staying back in the city breathing air with reduced pollution levels.
Data with Regional Transport Authority shows that close to 60 lakh vehicles ply on the city roads every day. However, during Sankranti vacation, as most of these vehicles remained parked or out of town, a noticeable improvement in the ambient air quality was recorded by the Pollution Control Board monitoring stations in the city. Given the large vehicular population, environmentalists blame them for more than 50 per cent of air pollution.
According to environmentalists, factors such as vehicular pollution, release of gases from industries and dust pollution, were responsible for deterioration of air quality. “However, short term air purification of city air can be attributed to majority of the vehicle population moving off the road during festive season,” an environmentalist said.
As per the continuous ambient air quality from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the PM2.5 level (particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or less in diametre) significantly dropped in Sanathnagar area. If the PM 2.5 level in this area was 120 on January 13 afternoon, it dropped to 38.96 on January 17. Similarly, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) has come down from 49.4 to 22.1 during the same period.
There are four air quality stations in Hyderabad at Sanathnagar, Zoo Park, ICRISAT and Central University, which are continuously monitored by CPCB. The data from all these stations shows that air quality improved during the vacation.
If the PM10 level (presence of particles in the air with a diametre of less than 10 micrometres) at Central University was 126.3 on January 14, it dropped to 53.29 on January 17 while the PM 2.5 level fell from 59.14 to 18.79 in the same period, according to PCB data.
At the Zoo Park too, there has been a considerable drop in both PM10 and PM2.5 levels. The PM10 which was 159.51 on January 14 came down to 87.09 on January 17 while PM2.5 dropped to 77.38 to 48.83 during the same period. However, the respite could be short-lived with the vacation ending on Friday and the vehicles soon to be back on the roads.
