The National Air Quality Index indicates that the city’s air quality has consistently remained “bad” and “extremely poor” for the past two weeks, particularly at night and in the morning.
According to the air quality index, practically every day over the past two weeks saw “bad” or “very poor” results from six of the city’s seven automatic air quality monitoring stations. The six stations are situated at the Victoria Memorial, Ballygunge, Bidhannagar, Jadavpur, Rabindra Sarobar, and Rabindra Bharati University (BT Road campus).
On numerous days during that time, only the station in Fort William was able to record “moderate” air.
The Central Pollution Control Board states that breathing in “poor” air for an extended period of time can be uncomfortable for most people. Long-term exposure to “very bad” air can cause respiratory illnesses.
The weekend’s heavy foot traffic resulted in “bad” and “very poor” air quality.
At 6 o’clock on Saturday and Sunday, the air quality was “extremely terrible” on the Victoria Memorial campus, which gets a lot of visitors throughout the winter. The average of the last 24 hours’ worth of air quality readings was that.
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AMRI Hospitals Mukundapur’s Amitabha Saha, a critical care doctor, warned that breathing in polluted air could lead to “congestion in the nose and throat, and coughing.”
People with asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), according to Woodlands Hospital pulmonologist Arup Halder, were particularly at risk.
According to a 2019 study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), coal combustion, open burning, and vehicle pollution are the main causes of PM2.5 in Kolkata during the winter.
The use of firecrackers during weddings and by football supporters celebrating their favourite countries’ victory in World Cup games adds to the suffering caused by the noxious air. After matches ended, many locals claimed that they could hear firecrackers going off in the middle of the night.
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The state forbids the setting off of firework displays. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board stated in an order it had issued in October 2021 that “there should be a complete prohibition on the selling and bursting of all forms of firecrackers, except green crackers.”
However, in the city, numerous firecrackers that do not meet the requirements of “green crackers” are frequently set off, and the sound can be heard for miles.
Around the season of Diwali, Kolkatans are accustomed to hearing such tremendous noises.
But there is a distinction this winter. The Telegraph was informed by locals in Behala, Kalindi, Shyambazar, and Kasba, among other places, that they frequently heard firecrackers going off in the past several weeks. A resident on Kasba’s P Majumder Road reported, “I heard repeated sounds of firecrackers going off near my home.”
During and after the matches between Brazil and Argentina, a resident of Behala claimed to have heard firecracker explosions similar to those of Diwali in his neighbourhood. A resident of Behala reported hearing repeated noises of firecrackers about 3.30 am on Saturday after Argentina won.
According to a representative of the state pollution control board, there have been no reports of firecracker complaints.