Hope everyone in the city had a fabulous Diwali and it is time that we think about the harm that has been done to the environment of the city. Chandigarh as a city has always reminded of green roadsides and lush green parks in every sector. Known as one of the cleanest city and synonymous with the City Beautiful, this Diwali, Chandiagrh surprisingly recorded an increase in pollution that too increasing upto thrice the safe levels.
Pollution in Chandigarh:
As from the safety perspective, the levels permissible for the city are 100 units of RSPM and 45 Decibels (db) of noise. On an average normal day, Chandigarh records pollution levels in the range of 114-135 units (already at unsafe level) but on Diwali, the stats got sailing way up going to about 330 units which is exactly thrice the levels recorded on a normal day.
The units of measuring the pollution were in two ways which were mainly to measure air pollution and sound levels. Sound levels become a polluting factor above limits. For air pollution units used are RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter). RSPM basically refers to the suspended particulate matter in air in a region less than or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter (a micrometre turns out to be a millionth part of a meter). Decibel is the unit for sound which becomes a pollutant when it becomes unpleasing ‘Noise’ which thereby starts harming health. For instance 10 decibel is the sound from rustling of fallen leaves ranging upto 100 decibels coming from a jackhammer operating very close by at a construction site, 100 decibels is enough for a damage within 15 minutes.
The Statistics in Chandigarh:
The data recorded for pollution in Chandigarh this Diwali brought the following keypoints;
- Sector 29 came out to be the most polluted sector with 330 units of RSPM which is way more than 189 units recorded last year at Diwali.
- Sector-22 became the second most polluted place in terms of air pollution with 316 units of RSPM.
- Sector-22 becomes the most polluted sector in terms of noise especially between the time 9 pm – 10 pm with 86.3 db of noise at the time.
- Sector-17 remains the least polluted place with 225 units of RSPM.
The data though varies from sector to sector but was recorded mainly for three major shopping hubs i.e. Sectors-17, 22 & 29 for comparison with previous years statistics.
Health Effects:
Sulphur dioxides and oxides of nitrogen are the main pollutants contributing to air pollution on Diwali.
- Sulphur dioxide is a major cause of all the problems related to breathing like chronic bronchitis and asthma, it is a major contributor towards increased morbidity and mortality especially for infants and old aged people.
- Oxides of nitrogen especially nitrogen oxides, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide are responsible for affecting genes, cause death, causes tissue swelling, decreases fertility. Headaches and dizziness are its common side-effects on health.
Source: Hindustan Times
A Request:
With much of campaigning and raising awareness, if this is the condition of Chandigarh, something needs to be changed on a major scale. Its the need of an hour to be a bit more conscious of surroundings and take care of the natural resources we are blessed to cherish. Lets pledge to make Chandigarh a beautiful city which it is already synonymous with.
Image Credits: The Indian Express
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