Visakhapatnam: All the district headquarters in AP are polluted with concentration of PM 10 in the air. Vijayawada is ahead of Visakhapatnam among the cities, in this matter. The annual average of PM 10 pollutants in Vijayawada recorded at Auto Nagar and police control room monitoring stations stands at 104 ug/m3, whereas the concentration of the same recorded 99 ug/m3(police barracks) in Visakhapatnam.
The annual average standard of PM 10 is 60 ug/ Mm3 and day standard is 100 ug/m3, according to the Central Pollution Control Board guidelines.
Among the district headquarters with regards to annual average of PM 10 concentrations, Kakinada tops with 117 ug/m3, followed by Guntur (96), Anantapur, and Kurnool (76). The rest are also observed to be exceeding the standard value of 60 ug/m3.
Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board has prepared the report taking the readings of various pollutants monitored in 12 months (2014-15) and the latest one is yet to come.
Moreover, the PM10 level recorded in all the district headquarters of the state were found exceeding the average standard.
The monitoring was done by stations set up by CPCB which is executing a nation-wide programme of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), under which Vizag has eight and Vijayawada has three monitoring stations apart from the stations run by APPCB.
PM 2.5 and NOx values: Of more concern is the outcome of the report that the PM 2.5 is also crossing the annual average limit of 40ug/m3 as per the records of the four Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in the state. The annual average of PM 2.5 level in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam stood at 53 and 54.
Moreover, the NOx concentration exceeded for Tirumala and Visakhapatnam (GVMC building) stations with 81.6ug/m3 and 44.5ug/m3 respectively. The annual average standard is 40ug/m3. The report gives a clear picture of how the air quality is deteriorating in AP.
