HYDERABAD: Even as multiple national and international reports have found Hyderabad to be one of the most polluted cities in South India, the situation only seems to be worsening. An analysis of weekly pollution levels in three weeks of March shows that of the 23 sites where various pollution indices are measured, 12 saw a sharp spike week on week.
In fact, some areas like the Nehru Zoo Park had an AQI score of 217 in the second week of March which is categorised as ‘Poor Quality’ by national standards. Overall, the Nehru Zoo Park and Sanathnagar emerge as the most polluted.
In the period March 16 to March 23, the highest pollution levels were at Zoo Park with PM 10 levels at 185 ug/m3. This was followed by Bollaram with 177 ug/m3, Kukatpally had 150 ug/m3 levels. As per national standards, PM10 must not exceed 100 ug/m3 on a 24-hour average.
Uppal, Jubilee Hills and Charminar no better
In many monitoring stations like Uppal, Jubilee Hills, Charminar, Paradise, Langar House, Chikapally etc, these pollutants increased week on week, even if the numbers were relatively lesser than 150ug/m3. Meanwhile, in terms of PM 2.5 levels in the week, March 16 to 23rd, the highest was seen at Nehru Zoo Park itself with level at 89ug/m3, followed by Bollaram and Sanathnagar at 69 ug/m3 respectively. As per national standards, the ideal level must be at 60.
The overall AQI in these areas is at ‘Moderate’ level, i.e. between 100-200 points, the worst being in Zoo Park, Bollarum and Pashamylrama. Only last week, IQAir had mentioned Hyderabad in its list as being one of the most polluted large cities in the South. Prior to this, Greenpeace India had also found the air quality in the city as “extremely poor” and second-worst followed by Vizag among larger cities.