Pollution levels remain high after Chennai celebrated Deepavali

On Deepavali Monday, a mostly dry afternoon and evening, with scattered light rain, filled the city with noise and smoke. However, timely rain the next morning saved the city from smog and pollution.

Among the seven spots monitored, Besant Nagar was the cleanest with an air quality index (AQI) of 190 and Valasarawakkam came last in the Greater Chennai Corporation with an AQI of 332, according to data from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

particulate matter

AQI is calculated based on particulate matter in ambient air over a 24-hour period. An AQI of 51-100 is considered satisfactory, 101-200 is moderately contaminated, 201-300 is poor, and 301-400 is very poor. T. Nagar, a commercial district, had an AQI of 273. The locality of Nungambakkam recorded an AQI of 326. The highly commercial Sowcarpet district recorded an AQI of 260 and Tiruvottiyur recorded an AQI of 207.

Environmental expert K. Karthikeyan said air quality improved significantly due to heavy rain on Tuesday morning. “Common areas are used to burst crackers in the USA. Maybe it is time for India’s big cities to switch to such a model, where the zoning atlas and nearly 150 points have been selected. Bursting crackers will become safer. A fireworks display will also be good,” he said.

noise level

In the noise survey, the lowest noise level value was seen in Besant Nagar with 62.8 dB(A) and the highest noise level value was seen in Tiruvottiyur with 88.4 dB(A). TK Pandian, a resident of Anna Nagar, said that the explosion of noise-emitting crackers continued until 2 am.

“The sound was very loud and painful to the ears, sometimes very frightening. I am not sure if anyone checked the noise levels of these crackers before they reached the market. The police seem to have not done their job by issuing warnings ahead of the festival and catching those who burst crackers beyond the time limit fixed by the Supreme Court,” he said.