Patna: The city’s air quality recorded a marginal improvement on Saturday. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) in the city was recorded at 176, which, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), is moderate. However, as per the CPCB’s index, ‘moderate’ air can still cause breathing discomfort to people with respiratory and heart diseases.
The pollution level came down by 56 notches in the last 48 hours, with the average AQI recorded at 232 on November 7. Of the six monitoring stations located in the city, the one in Samanpura recorded the highest AQI on Saturday at 293, which was in the ‘poor’ category. Patna City’s air index was recorded at 166, followed by Muradpur (153), Rajbanshi Nagar (152), Planetarium (150) and DRM office-Khagaul (142).
According to the experts, the poor air can cause breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’, as per the CPCB’s guidelines.
Apart from Patna, several other towns in Bihar recorded moderate air, including Araria (200), Aurangabad (107), Bettiah (106), Bhagalpur (110), Biharsharif (110), Chhapra (104), Kishanganj (123), Purnia (143) and Rajgir (102). Three towns in Bihar — Siwan, Hajipur and Muzaffarpur — recorded air pollution in the ‘poor’ zone, with the AQI reading at 232, 216 and 205, respectively on Saturday.
According to the meteorologists, there is no possibility of any change in the weather for the next five days. Dry weather will prevail across the state and the wind will remain calm, making it favourable for the dust particles to settle in the environment, owing to which the pollution level may slightly rise in the next 48 hours.
The day temperature will likely decline by 2-4 degrees in most parts of the state by November 12, averaging around 28-30 degrees Celsius, while the minimum will be recorded in the range of 18-22 degrees Celsius.