Hyderabad: Did lockdown result in drop in temperature?

Hyderabad: A study conducted by researchers from IIT-Tirupati, Australia, and Italy revealed that the lockdown has resulted in a drop in temperature in Hyderabad and other cities in India.

As per the study which was recently published in ‘Energy Nexus’ journal, the land surface temperature in the city has dropped by 1.9 degrees in April 2020 when compared to the temperature in April 2019. Other cities including Delhi and Mumbai too saw a drop in the temperature due to the lockdown.

In Delhi and Mumbai, the temperature was drop by 5 and 0.26 degrees Celsius respectively.

Hyderabad’s air quality dropped post lockdown

Due to the resumption of business activities and an increase in vehicular traffic after the lifting of lockdown in Telangana, Hyderabad’s air quality has dropped as pollution increased significantly.

After the imposition of the lockdown in the state in 2021, the air quality had improved from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’. However, as soon as the lockdown was lifted, the quality again dropped. A similar trend was also witnessed during the lockdown imposed in 2020.

As per Telangana Pollution Control Board’s data, the air quality index (AQI) during most of the days in the month of March and April was ‘moderate’. After the imposition of lockdown on May 12, AQI improved.

Currently, the air quality in various places in Hyderabad is either satisfactory or moderate. The worth AQIs in Hyderabad are reported in Bollaram Industrial Area and Zoo Park. Their AQIs are 123 and 120 respectively.

What is AQI?

AQI reports the air quality of a particular area. There are six categories based on AQI value, they are Good (AQI 0–50), Satisfactory (AQI 51–100), Moderate (AQI 101–200), Poor (AQI 201–300), Very poor (AQI 301–400), and Severe (AQI 401–500).

Environmental activists blamed increased vehicular traffic, construction work, resumption of MMTS, etc., for the fall in Hyderabad’s air quality.