VISAKHAPATNAM: A good augury about this year’s Diwali celebrations has been that pollution levels have been comparatively less if one goes by the data of PM10 value of air, which was very high on October 27 in 2019. There have been fewer fire accidents and hospital admissions of patients with eye injuries from fire-crackers.
This is being attributed to skyrocketing prices of fireworks, public awareness on green crackers, lack of money to spend, children's fad for video games, and unsupportive climatic conditions like cloudy weather associated with light to moderate rains during the festival day across the state. A district average of 5mm of rainfall was reported on the day of the festival.
In Vizag, the PM10 value was 278 microgram per meter’s cube (mgpmc) on Diwali day in 2019 and 141 mgpmc this year. It was 183 mgpcm in Rajahmundry in 2019 and only 74 this year. It was 43mgpcm at Velagapudi near Vijayawada in 2019 against 40 in 2021. The Tirumala’s PM10 value has been put at 69 mgpcm and 21, respectively.
“Registering 278 PM10 value was high compared with the average value of 100 per 24 hours. The air pollution was high in Vizag in 2019,” said an environmental engineer from Andhra University, here.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) senior environmental scientist B.V.Prasad said that as per the National Green Tribunal 2020 order, permission was granted to burn fireworks between 8 pm and 10 pm on the day of the festival.
“Yes, compared with the 2019 Diwali, this year's festival did not affect the air. We hope people will maintain the same trend in the future and thus protect the environment,” Prasad said.
On the other hand, GVMC regional fire officer Niranjan Reddy said that except for a minor fire mishap at Dondaparthy here, there were no reports of Diwali related fire mishaps this year.
