Kolkata, Nov 8 — Pollution levels in several areas of Kolkata and Howrah have reached alarming levels on the night before Kali Puja, with many 'red' spots visible on the pollution map, an official said on Sunday.
The pollution level in Kolkata's air has been increasing over the last two days before Kali Puja. Since Friday night, toxic smoke from firecrackers has been mixed in the air of Howrah, Jadavpur, and Salt Lake. Since Saturday night, the level has increased further. Several more areas have been newly added to this list.
The maximum level of PM 2.5 in the air of Ghusuri in Howrah was 350, 336 at Salt Lake, 326 in Jadavpur, 321 in Ballygunge, and 313 in Howrah district's Belur.
The state government has already issued strict rules to control air pollution and noise pollution levels during Kali Puja. The time for bursting firecrackers has been fixed from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Several rules and conditions have also been issued for the sale of firecrackers. However, there are concerns about the weather conditions before Kali Puja. It is feared that the pollution situation may worsen if the amount of moisture in the air increases. If the air is in this condition even before Kali Puja, then there is growing concern about where the situation will be on the night of the festival on Sunday.
Speaking to IANS, prominent green technologist and environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said: "The sharp deterioration in Kolkata's air quality in the 72-hour window following November 5 is a direct outcome of extensive rule violations surrounding firecracker usage coupled with unfavourable early-winter meteorology."
"Despite strict regulations restricting firecracker bursting to designated intervals (1 hour in the morning from 6:00 to 7:00 AM and 2 hours in the evening from 8:00 to 10:00 PM), unmonitored bursting outside these slots creates a continuous emission load without giving local air time to disperse contaminants," Ghosh added.
According to him, the widespread use of banned, highly toxic traditional crackers releases heavy concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10, sulphur dioxide (SO2), and heavy metal residues into the lower atmosphere, which results in high levels of air pollution.