Rain lashes city; dust blanket vanishes

Tribune News Service 

Patiala, June 16

On Saturday morning, rain brought respite from the dust that had enveloped the city for the past a couple of days. With early morning showers, which lasted for around 20 minutes, the weather turned pleasant, improving visibility. 

The sky remained overcast with chances of more rain in the day. The local meteorological office said the city received 26.8 mm rainfall till 6.30 am. The minimum temperature was recorded at 23.6 degree Celsius.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board, Patiala, PM2.5 was measured at 452 micrograms per cubic metre of air on Friday, which dropped to 266 micrograms per cubic metre after rain. 

The air quality had declined in the state on Friday. Amritsar recorded one of the worst air quality in the country with PM2.5 measures at 454 micrograms per cubic metre. Patiala, Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna too crossed the 400-mark. The figures reveal that the air pollution in the state was worse than the days when paddy stubble is set on fire.  

Interestingly, before the dust storm, the presence of PM2.5 in the air was below 150 micrograms per cubic metre . As per the World Health Organisation, the AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor”, and 401-500 “severe”.