Kolkata's AQI improves significantly during 'Janata Curfew'

Kolkata's air quality showed a significant improvement on Sunday, with most people remaining indoors to observe 'Janata Curfew' in view of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.

The PM 2.5 air quality index (AQI) was 'satisfactory' in all the automated air monitoring stations in the city during the day, an official of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board said.

The PM 2.5 AQI reading at the Ballygunge air monitoring station was 64 on Sunday noon while that in Bidhannagar was 74, the official said.

It read 57 at Fort William, 64 at Rabindra Bharati University, 45 at Jadavpur and 64 at Rabindra Sarobar air monitoring stations, he said. The PM 2.5 levels hovered between 150 and 250 (moderate to severe range) across all the air stations till very recently, the official said.

For the past two days, the city's average AQI was between 70 and 110, he said. "The other side of the coronavirus outbreak is lower emission of pollutants in the air due to near-total shutdown, with a few very vehicles plying the roads," the official added.

Image Credit PTI