Day after Diwali, air quality in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur dips to 'severe' category; 'very poor' in Moradabad, 'severe' in Lucknow's Lalbagh

Lucknow: Air quality dipped to ‘severe’ category in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur and ‘very poor’ in Moradabad on Monday morning, a day after Diwali celebrations. Notably, air quality dips following the festival of Diwali, which witnesses people bursting crackers across the country. [caption id=“attachment_5518821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] According to Air Quality Index, Primary Pollutant PM10 was recorded at a ‘severe’ level of 694 in Hapur at around 8 am in the morning while the same was at a ‘very poor’ 352 in Moradabad. The cities were enveloped in a thick layer of haze while firecracker waste was seen lying on roads in the morning. Air quality also deteriorated to a very poor and severe categories in other cities of the state including Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. Meanwhile, air quality was also at the ‘severe’ level in the Lalbagh area of the state capital Lucknow. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. “Bursting crackers does create pollution and cause breathing problems but Diwali is an annual festival. People should be more responsible. Politicians alone cannot do everything,” Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Lucknow told ANI on Monday. According to locals in Kanpur, where the air quality is comparably better at 153, the condition is better in this city because of the greenery. “Although there is some effect of bursting crackers, the situation is better in the region because of the greenery in the area. The condition is far worse in other areas,” said a local in Kanpur.