HYDERABAD: After a brief stay on the ‘satisfactory’ category during past one week, Hyderabad’s air quality deteriorated to ‘moderate’ levels on Friday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) doubled from the figures on February 11, which was 73 at 7pm, and reached 146 at the same time on Friday.
When an AQI between 101 and 200 is considered moderate, 201 to 300 is poor and 301 to 400 belongs to very poor category. Air quality at the ‘moderate’ level can cause breathing issues especially to people suffering from asthma, lung, and heart diseases, claimed CPCB air monitoring standards.
With AQI of 206, Sanathnagar’s air quality on Friday dropped to the ‘poor’ category and was the most-polluted area, the CPCB data revealed. Zoopark (158) and Pashamylaram (131) recorded their AQIs in the ‘moderate’ category.
Raja Rao, a senior meteorologist at the IMD-H, told Express, “Since Thursday, the wind direction has changed which is causing cloud formation, as a result of which there is a sudden dip in the temperature which is in turn trapping air pollutants in the atmosphere.”