Hyderabad: Air quality drops as pollution rises significantly

Hyderabad: In many parts of Hyderabad, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has dipped to a ‘poor’ level as pollution in the city has increased significantly.

Currently, PM2.5 concentrations in the city reached 3.1 times above the WHO’s recommended limit.

Today, the Zoo Park area recorded the worst AQI level of 162 which is near to unhealthy level. Somajiguda, Central University, and Hyderabad US Consulate areas also recorded bad AQI levels i.e., 156, 155, and 155 respectively.

Except Madhapur Village, Puppalguda, and Shirdi Sai Nagar which recorded ‘Moderate’ levels, all other areas are seeing ‘poor’ quality of air.

Areas	AQI level
Zoo Park	162
Somajiguda	156
Central University	155
US Consulate in Hyderabad	155
KPHB Phase III	139
Saidabad	132
Banjara Hill	127
Koti	112
New Malakpet	110
Manikonda	107
Vittal Rao Nagar	107
Kokapet	102
Madhapur Village	97
Puppalguda	89
Shirdi Sai Nagar	84

Hyderabad’s air quality during lockdown

During the lockdown in Hyderabad, the air quality in the city improved significantly due to the drop in business activities and vehicular movement.

However, soon after the resumption of business activities and the increase in vehicular traffic after the lifting of the lockdown, Hyderabad’s air quality dropped as pollution increased significantly.

What is AQI?

Air quality plays a very important role in human’s life as a person on an average inhales around 14, 000 litres of air daily. Any presence of contaminants in the air will have negative effect on people’s health.

AQI reports the air quality of a particular area. There are six categories based on AQI value. They are as follows