BHUBANESWAR: Days after independent weather forecast agency Skymet reported about hazardous air pollution in the Capital, Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) on Tuesday refuted the former’s charge, claiming that the city’s air quality is ‘satisfactory’.
OSPCB member secretary Debidutta Biswal said the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Bhubaneswar has remained between ‘satisfactory’ to ‘moderate’ and is not as acute as New Delhi where a public health emergency has been declared.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has divided air quality index (AQI) into six categories. A score between 0 and 50 is considered safe, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and above 400 plus falls under severe category. According to statistics, Bhubaneswar’s 24-hour average AQI on November 3 stood at 95.3 while that of the National Capital was 494.
OSPCB officials said six stations in the city where the AQI was analysed showed particulate matter- 10 level in the air on the day was 101 milligram per cubic metre (mg/m3) at OSPCB office in Nayapalli, 130 mg/m3 at IRC Village, 94 mg/m3 at Patrapada, 87 mg/m3 at OSPCB Central lab in Patia, 71 mg/m3 at
Palasuni and 89mg/m3 at Capital police station area. They said the level of PM 2.5 in the air on the same day was 30 mg/m3 at OSPCB office, 42 mg/m3 at IRC Village, 35 mg/m3 at Patrapada, 27mg/m3 at OSPCB central lab, 25 mg/m3 at Palasuni and 32 mg/m3 at Capital Police Station area.
The members also questioned the sensor-based air quality monitoring and said the CPCB only prescribes Gravimetric analysis of particulate matter in air. They said many in the city may have mistaken the fog on the onset of winter as smog.