By Ipsita Dash
Bhubaneswar: Though the month and a half long nationwide lockdown has its impact on the society in terms of hardship and disruption of activities, the other side of the situation has some good news for the environment.
The Air Quality Index in the country has improved significantly and Odisha has also experienced a considerable enhancement in its air quality in these 45 days. Data released by the State Pollution Control Board shows that the overall condition of air pollution levels has been impacted positively by the complete stoppage of factories and vehicular movement during the month of April.
The lockdown imposed in Odisha to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the third week of March 2020 still continues and in these days almost all of the small and medium factories and were shut down resulting in reduced level of pollutants in the air. Likewise, about 90 percent of the vehicular traffic also remained standstill during the lockdown period.
Of the sixteen cities that have been monitored, all have showed a positive change towards better AQI. While the AQI of five cities improved to their best in the recent years, the data of the remaining eleven cities also shows significant change.
Capital city Bhubaneswar, which recorded AQI of 99 in the pre-lockdown period, has improved its air quality to 45 in April i.e., almost halved the PM10 levels in the air. According to the State Pollution Control Board parlance, the air quality is Good – meaning minimal impact on the health of the people. Likewise, the AQI of Berhampur, Sambalpur, Puri and Konark also show an improvement towards Good having AQI levels starting from 33 to 50. Sambalpur has witnessed the best transformation in air quality from 109 in the pre lockdown period to 50 during the month of April.
Among the other cities which include most of the industrial areas of the state, the Air Quality Index also improved significantly. In Rourkela, the AQI improved from 107 to 51 during the lockdown period. Likewise, the air pollution levels in Paradip, Kalinganagar, Jharsuguda and Talcher improved from more than 100 AQI to about 55-60 AQI during the period of reference. While the overall air quality in the state remained satisfactory during the lockdown period, it may change when the lockdown is withdrawn slowly.
The author is a Mumbai-based professional.
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