City air quality remains poor for 2nd day, poses health risk | Lucknow News

Lucknow: The state capital experienced high air pollution levels for the second consecutive day in Nov, with the Air Quality Index at 203 on Friday, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).Over the past 14 days, the city’s air quality deteriorated to the extent that exposure to such poor air could lead to respiratory issues. In the evening hours, particulate matter levels—PM10 and PM2.5—were three and five times higher than the permissible limits, respectively. On November 3, the city fell within the ‘good’ air quality category with an AQI of 47, but pollution levels spiked by over 150 units in just 10 days. “Low temperatures and a very low wind velocity are aggravating the pollution levels, as due to these two factors, the pollutants could not be dispersed and remained hanging in the air, thereby further spiking the air pollution levels,” said Mohammad Danish, senior scientist of the state met department. He said there was an immediate need to adopt pollution control measures such as ensuring no stubble burning, improving traffic conditions and sprinkling water to reduce suspended particles.