A day after Diwali, Punjab on Monday observed an Average Air Quality Index (AQI) reduction of 7.6 per cent from the last year 2022 and 22.8 per cent as compared to 2021.
Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the Punjab Pollution Control Bureau (PPCB) has installed Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in six cities – Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh and Patiala to monitor the ambient air quality on a real-time basis.
“The comparative level of AQI value during Diwali-2023 day vis-à-vis previous year Diwali-2022 and 2021 days was improved. The values are based on the data From 7 a.m. on the day of Diwali to 6 a.m. the day after Diwali,” he said.
The minister said the AQI of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh and Patiala has observed a reduction in the AQI during this year Diwali (2023) as compared to the last two year’s Diwali days 2022 and 2021.
The average AQI of Punjab this Diwali was 207, which is marginally higher than the maximum AQI value of 200 for the moderate category, as compared to 224 in 2022 and 268 in 2021.
Meet Hayer said the maximum AQI was recorded at Amritsar this year with an AQI value of 235. He said last year the maximum value of AQI 262 was observed in Amritsar. In 2021 maximum value of AQI 327 (very poor) was observed in Jalandhar.
The minimum AQI for this year was recorded in Mandi Gobindgarh with an AQI value of 153 against the last year’s value of 188 and also in 2021 with an AQI value of 220. The maximum AQI reduction in this year was observed in Mandi Gobindgarh (18.6 per cent).
Meanwhile, the PPCB thanked the people of the state of Punjab for following the advisory issued concerning the period fixed for bursting of firecrackers and using the green crackers for celebrations of the Diwali festival, resulting in an overall improvement in air quality as compared to last year 2022 and 2021 also.