Amritsar records season’s worst air quality

Amritsar woke up to another historic low in the city’s air quality as it recorded an AQI of 423 at 7 am on October 31. Repeating its past record of having worse air quality in Punjab, the holy city on Friday breached the 400 mark as it recorded the season’s worst air quality.

The breach made it extremely hazardous and dangerous to breathe while the residents, though aware of the fact, continued their commute and day-to-day activities.

By afternoon (at 3 pm), the air quality fell to 183, still in the ‘unhealthy’ category as the PM 10 was recorded at 113 microns/gm and PM 2.5 was recorded at 93 microns/gm. The data was sourced from the Punjab Pollution Control Board’s air monitoring unit installed at the Golden Temple.

Every year, the region around Amritsar experiences large amounts of crop residue burning (especially paddy/straw) after harvest. This injects significant quantities of fine particulate matter (PM2.5/PM10) into the air. Adding to the problem, Amritsar sits in the Indo-Gangetic plain, where during cooler months a temperature inversion, i.e., cold air near the ground, while warmer air above traps pollutants close to the surface.

This limits vertical mixing and thus pollution dispersal. In the lead-up to and during Diwali, the AQI in Amritsar had spiked dramatically due to firecracker bursting, despite reductions in stubble-burning in some years. But with every passing day, cases of stubble burning are now on the rise and the situation might worsen as the AQI in the city has been recorded between 170 and 220, with a surge reported at night or early morning.