DC’s failure to curb stubble burning turned Patiala air quality more than worse
KI Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Patiala
Patiala experienced its most polluted day ever in the history. Today Patiala turned into a gas chamber and its air quality deteriorated sharply, forcing the people to stay indoors.
Visibility on the national highway-7, Chandigarh-Bathinda and remained poor throughout the day, as smoke emitted from the field where paddy stubble’s has been set on fire. It worsens in the evening.
Tanvi , a student said tough no major industrial plant is in Patiala and have green area, baradari garden, but today its total failure of the district administration and deputy commissioner in particular to curb this stubble burning menace. Even the chief minister instructed the district heads to sensitise farmers against ill effects of the burning of crop waste.
Even secretary agriculture Punjab, Kahan Singh Pannu, in an interview published in a leading newspaper said “that farmers are insensitive and are irresponsible”
As per Punjab Pollution Control Board continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System installed outside its head office on Nabha Road, Patiala shows PM 10 and PM 2.5 as 780.00 ug/m3 and 370.50 ug/m3 respectively at 8.07 PM today. Strontium (SR) is 91.56 w/m2, Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) is 39.79 ug/m3, carbon Monoxide (CO) is 5.41 mg/m3, Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) is 118.40 ug/m3 These dust particles crossed “emergency” threshold at night.
PM 2.5 WHO prescribed limit of 25 . PM2.5 is more dangerous, as they are so small and light, fine particles tend to stay longer in the air than heavier particles. Fine particles are also known to trigger or worsen chronic disease such as asthma, heart attack, bronchitis and other respiratory problems.
Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) annual mean concentrations in urban areas throughout the world are generally in the range of 20–90 μg/m3
November,2,2019
