A day after the Diwali celebration, State capital Bhubaneswar recorded poor air quality on Monday.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city stood at 175 at 7.40 am. At 12:23 pm, the AQI was 169, a ‘poor’ in category.
The current PM2.5 concentration in Bhubaneswar is 6 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24-hour air quality guidelines value.
The air quality in Bhubaneswar slipped into a poor category as people reportedly continued bursting firecrackers violating the commissionerate police guidelines.
The Twin City Commissionerate Police had issued an order prohibiting bursting of crackers on Diwali after 10 pm. As per the guidelines, only green crackers were allowed in the city, banning firecrackers producing sound above 125 decibels.
The Odisha Pollution Control Board had also imposed restrictions on the bursting of firecrackers on Diwali.
Despite all restrictions, the residents in Bhubaneswar burst polluting firecrackers till late night that led to a significant rise in AQI in the city.
