Reportedly over the last week, air pollution in chennai has made headlines with the pollution CONTROL BOARD' target='_blank' title='central pollution control board-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>central pollution control board (CPCB) labeling the city's air quality across various locations, 'poor' to 'very poor'. Meanwhile despite the alarming figures presented by the board and the smog enveloping the city in the mornings, the state government after a high-level meeting on monday said that there is no reason to worry.
Furthermore the Revenue Department has blamed the deteriorating air quality in the city on the low-pressure system caused by Cyclone Bulbul and on possibly faulty meters in the CPCB monitoring stations. Revenue minister RB Udhayakumar said "Due to the Bulbul cyclone, the cloud cover has descended. So in such a situation, the sun's rays do not come through. And there will be lesser sea breeze, therefore increasing pollution. This is in addition to pollution caused by vehicles, construction sites and burning of garbage".
Moreover as per the National AQI, 0-50 stands for good air quality, 51-100 for satisfactory, 101-200 for moderate, 201-300 for poor, 301-400 for very poor and 401 - 500 for severe. Between november 4 and november 8, chennai recorded an average AQI of 247.5 in a residential area such as Velachery and 305.75 in Manali, an industrial area. Perhaps Dr shiva Nagendra, a professor from IIT Madras' civil engineering department and expert on the panel argued that manual station has more reliable meter readings.
