Air quality in Punjab, Hry worsens; flights cancelled
PATIALA/CHANDIGARH: With a blanket of haze continuing to envelop the northern region for the third day on Friday, the air quality index (AQI) in Punjab and Haryana has reached an all-time high.
Also, poor visibility due to the haze resulted in cancellation of flights in the two states and the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
The dust storm also resulted in cancellation of chopper services to Vaishno Devi.
The pollution control boards of Punjab and Haryana have issued advisories that no construction activities should take place till the haze gets cleared.
People have been advised against taking exercise while those suffering from asthma, heart, eye, skin ailments should stay indoors till the weather improves. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) said Amritsar is the worst-affected with an AQI level of 454, followed by Ludhiana (443), Mandi Gobindgarh (440), Rupnagar (417), Patiala (403) and Khanna (389). Before the dust storm, AQI in Punjab was at a satisfactory level (101-200) on Wednesday.
The extent of air quality deterioration
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARDS OF 2 STATES ISSUE ADVISORIES NOT TO CARRY OUT CONSTRUCTION TILL HAZE GETS CLEARED
in Punjab can be gauged from the fact that the AQI levels had not crossed the 400-mark even when paddy stubble is burned after harvesting in October. Even the PM10 and PM 2.5 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10mm and 2.5mm) in Punjab were recorded over four times higher than the normal value of 100 µg/m3.