Punjab Air Quality On Diwali Better Than Last 2 Years: Environment Minister

The Punjab government on Tuesday said the state's air quality was better this Diwali as compared to what it was on the festival day last time and the year before.

Six cities in Punjab observed improvement in the air quality index during this year's Diwali as compared to what it was in 2020 and 2021.

The average AQI of Punjab this Diwali was 224 (in the poor category) as compared to 268 in 2021 and 328 (very poor) in 2020, said the minister in an official statement.

Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said, "Due to constant efforts of the Punjab Pollution Control Board and appeal by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, this year's air quality on Diwali improved compared to last year."

He said last year as well as in 2020, no city was in the 'moderate' category whereas this year, Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh were in this category.

This year, Amritsar on Diwali reported an AQI of 262. In 2020 the AQI was 386.

The air quality of Amritsar and Jalandhar was in the 'very poor' category in 2021 and four cities Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala were in the 'very poor' category in 2020.

Meanwhile, Punjab Pollution Control Board Chairman Adarsh Paul Vig thanked the people of the state for following the advisory about the time period fixed for bursting firecrackers, resulting in an overall improvement in air quality as compared to 2021 and 2020.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

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