While Delhi is seeing a slight decline in air pollution levels, now Bihar has sharply seen a rise in the pollution levels. According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) bulletin, which records the air quality, in the previous 24 hours, as many as 11 cities were listed under ‘very poor’ category. Of these, except one from West Bengal, the remaining 10 cities were from Bihar.
The deteriorating air quality days are no longer limited to the north Indian states and Union territories as the toxic wind has now engulfed other corners of the country, too.
In the past 24 hours, Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 290 in the ‘poor’ category. This comes after the Arvind Kejriwal led government in the national capital on Monday lifted the temporary ban on construction and demolition activities owing to the improvement in the AQI. The city government had on Sunday night extended work-from-home for its employees and the ban on the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items till November 26 to combat air pollution and minimise its health effects.
Meanwhile, Kolkata that also saw ‘poor’ category air quality recorded an AQI of 229 in the past 24 hours. Mumbai, on the other hand, saw comparatively much better air quality than its metropolitan counterparts with an AQI of 76 in the ‘satisfactory’ category.
The southern states, on the other hand, continued to record good air days.
Top 5 cities and towns that recorded worst AQIs in the previous 24 hours:
1. Katihar in Bihar at 386
2. Purnia in Bihar at 384
3. Siwan in Bihar at 381
4. Darbhanga in Bihar at 369
Top 5 cities and towns that recorded best AQIs in the past 24 hours:
1. Hassan in Karnataka at 19
2. Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh at 25
3. Chikkaballapur and Medikeri in Karnataka at 29
4. Yadgir in Karnataka at 31
5. Puducherry at 32