Air pollution turns hazardous in Hyd on Diwali day

    Hyderabad’s air quality deteriorated to hazardous levels on Monday night as citizens celebrated Diwali with gusto, bursting crackers and lighting fireworks. The city witnessed alarming pollution with a surge in both particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10, largely driven by the relentless burning of firecrackers.

Pollution levels began rising gradually after 10 pm on Monday, reaching their peak around 11 pm. The worst-affected areas in the city were Ameerpet, Kukatpally, Sanathnagar, Jubilee Hills, Attapur and surrounding areas. According to the Pollution Control Board, the highest PM 10 level was recorded in Sanath Nagar at 153 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), New Malakpet 164 µg/m³, Kapra 140 µg/m³, Kokapet 134 µg/m³, Somajiguda 122 µg/m³, Ramachandrapuram 122 µg/m³, and Kompally 120 µg/m³.

The Telangana Pollution Control Board, which took up special purpose Diwali ambient air quality monitoring from October 13 to 20, recorded an increase in both PM 2.5 and PM 10 on the day of Diwali.

The PCB data showed that the PM 2.5 concentrations rose by 86 per cent on Monday compared to a normal day, though it was less compared to the 2024 Diwali, when the concentration rose by 91 per cent. The PM 10 concentrations on Monday went up by 68.13 per cent, while last year’s festival day saw 65.76 per cent rise.

The monitoring of gases showed the Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) increasing on Monday compared to normal day recording. Meanwhile, the noise levels in different zones also increased, but were less compared to last year. On Monday, the noise levels in industrial areas were 3.1 decibels (dB) higher in daytime and 6.2 dB higher in nighttime when compared with pre-Diwali recordings and in commercial areas, the levels during Diwali increased by 2.5dB in the day and by 3.97 dB at night compared to normal day.

In the residential areas, the noise levels increased by 1.6dB during the day and 3.7dB during nighttime when compared with normal day and in the sensitive area, noise levels rose by 1.1dB in day and 4dB during nighttime, the PCB said.