Pune’s ‘moderate’ air quality expected to deteriorate in next 24 hrs

PUNE: With an air quality index (AQI) of 122, Pune has been experiencing ‘moderate’ air quality till Thursday, October 31, however the air quality is expected to deteriorate in the next 24 hours given that there are three more days left of the ongoing Diwali festival. As per the SAFAR-IITM model predictions, air quality is likely to deteriorate in areas such as Katraj, Shivajinagar, Hadapsar and Bhosari that have been experiencing a gradual increase in air pollution for the past few days.
Over the last few years, Diwali has almost always preceded the onset of winter however factors like stagnant air, burning of garbage in the open, and bursting of firecrackers on a large scale have contributed to a significant drop in air quality during the festive season. This year too, with Diwali upon us, the city has started experiencing a rise in pollutant levels and the air quality which was previously ‘satisfactory’ has dropped to ‘moderate’ level and is expected to drop further given that the main festival falls on Friday, November 1, 2024. The Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) shows that the current air quality in Pune is at ‘moderate’ level with an AQI of 122. The system predicts that in the next 24 hours, air quality in Pune is expected to drop further and AQI in some areas is expected to be more than 200.
As per the system, the highest AQI on Thursday was recorded as 184 at Thergaon followed by 173 at Katraj and 133 at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) Chowk. On Friday, the AQI in some areas including Hadapsar, Shivajinagar, Pashan and Katraj is expected to exceed 200. The pollutant trend analysis shows that particulate matter (PM) 10 and PM 2.5 are major contributors in the increase in air pollution in various areas of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. While traffic is said to be the major reason for the increase in pollution, the AQEWS data shows that even areas such as Katraj Dairy etc. with relatively less traffic congestion are showing higher pollution records.
About this, Sachin Ghude, head, metropolitan air quality and weather forecasting services (MAQWS), IITM Pune, said, “Although we are yet to visit the stations that are showing high air pollution apart from those considered as traffic junctions, there is also an observation that open burning is taking place in many areas. Hence, local activities may be contributing to an increase in air pollution.’’
“This year, we are seeing a divide in Diwali celebrations as some people are celebrating it on October 31 while some are celebrating it on November 1. Hence on both days, the air quality is likely to deteriorate. Particularly from the night of November 1 to the morning of November 2, the air quality is likely to be poor,” Ghude said.
With chances of light rainfall in Pune on November 1 however, this will compensate for the air quality in Pune which may then be at ‘moderate to satisfactory’ level depending on the rainfall. Hence, it is important to see how the situation turns out on November 1, Ghude said.
Meanwhile, amidst the Diwali revelry, the city is experiencing warmer nights as the nighttime temperature has been increasing gradually over the last three to four days. The nighttime temperature on October 26 was recorded as 16.7 degrees Celsius, which was the lowest this October. Subsequently, it rose to 20.4 degrees Celsius on October 31 which was above normal level by 4.6 degrees Celsius. The daytime temperature – recorded as 33 degrees Celsius on October 31 – was also above normal level by 1.7 degrees Celsius.