Kolkata: The air quality in Kolkata improved significantly on Wednesday morning under the influence of Cyclone Arnab, with the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) dropping sharply from the elevated levels recorded a day earlier.
However, environmental experts cautioned that the relief could be short-lived, with pollution levels expected to surge again during Kali Puja and Diwali.
Usually, Kolkata’s air quality starts deteriorating before Kali Puja and Diwali. Pollution levels start rising before people light firecrackers. In previous years, the city’s AQI exceeded 200 by this time. However, this time the picture is a bit different. The air pollution is comparatively much lower this time.
On Wednesday, the city’s AQI was 98. Along with the cyclone, experts believe that climate change is also one of the reasons for this.
Environmentalists attribute the improvement to increased moisture brought by the cyclone system over the Bay of Bengal, coupled with weather pattern changes linked to climate change. Frequent low-pressure systems and cyclonic activity have led to higher-than-usual rainfall this year, helping suppress airborne pollutants.
Rainfall during Durga Puja also prevented pollution levels from rising at the pace typically witnessed during the festival season.
Environmentalist Dr Swati Nandi Chakraborty said, “Air pollution levels before Kali Puja are considerably lower this year, and it can be said that the situation is largely normal.”
However, experts warned against assuming that the cleaner air would last. Green technologist and environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh told IANS that the current improvement was a temporary effect of high atmospheric moisture and predicted that pollution levels could rise sharply after November 6, continuing through mid-March 2027.
“This is a temporary effect due to a high level of moisturisation, but this will increase sharply after November 6 and will continue till mid-March 2027,” he said.
According to sources in the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, a special team is being kept ready to monitor pollution during Kali Puja and Diwali. Authorities are also expected to enforce restrictions on firecracker use, with bursting likely to be permitted only between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
(IANS)
