PUNJAB, HRY PADDY GROWERS HAPPY
Rains in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, on Saturday cleared the blanket of dust haze that had covered the region. Several places in Punjab and Haryana were lashed by rains, bringing much-needed relief to residents Rain also brought cheers for paddy growers in the two states.
CHANDIGARH: Rains in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, on Saturday cleared the blanket of dust haze which had covered the region for the past three days, even as flight operations that had been hit due to low visibility have resumed.
Rains started past midnight and washed away the blanket of dust haze that had adversely affected normal life in the two states.
While several places in Punjab and Haryana were lashed by rains, Chandigarh too received heavy downpour since early today bringing much-needed relief to residents from the dust haze and sultry weather.
Mercury plummeted by several notches after rains, MeT department officials said.
Rain also brought cheers for paddy growers, readying their fields for transplanting paddy.
Flight operations at the Chandigarh International Airport, which had been adversely hit due to low visibility levels caused by dust haze, resumed on Saturday, airport officials said.
Most of the flights had to be cancelled during the past two days due to low visibility.
Air quality too had worsened by the dust haze in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh during the past three days.
In Patiala, the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) recorded 281 (in poor bracket) as Air Quality Index (AQI) level on Saturday against 403 on Friday.
Bathinda recorded AQI level at 405 (severe), Amritsar 403 against 454 on June 15, Mandi Gobindgarh 375 against 440 on Friday, Ludhiana 353 against yesterday’s 443, Rupnagar 319, Patiala 281, Jalandhar 294 and Khanna 318.
Even the PM10 and PM 2.5 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10mm and 2.5mm have also come down to some extent but remained three times higher than normal value of 100 µg/m3.
The air quality deteriorated due to dust storms originating from western India mainly from deserts of Rajasthan and adjoining areas. The Met department has predicted heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorm in parts of Punjab and Haryana.