Kolkata Beats Delhi In The Race For Being The Most Polluted City In India

New Delhi has been berated for being the most polluted city in India. Many attempts have been made to curb the pollution by sprinkling water. However, none of that helped because the city’s people don’t want to make the air cleaner, as proven by their blatant disregard for the Supreme Court ban on crackers.

But that was back in Diwali. As of now, another famous city has taken over Delhi in terms of air pollution. And that’s the city of joy, Kolkata!

According to Indian Express, Kolkata has surpassed the particulate matter (PM) level in New Delhi. And you’d be surprised to know that this change has happened in a mere 72 hours.

The National Air Quality Index website showed that the overall PM 2.5 count was at 381 (very poor) at the Rabindra Bharti University. In comparison to that, Delhi’s Ashok Vihar (one of the most polluted zones) was at 292.25. Even the average AQI at the celebrated Victoria Memorial was at 310.75.

The norm for “poor” AQI is 201-300, “very poor” is 301-400, and 401-500 counts as “severe”. And this how the scene changed in the Kolkata over the last few days.

Reports say that on Friday, the average AQI at Kolkata’s RBU and Victoria Memorial was 359.75 and 288, respectively, while that at Delhi’s Ashok Vihar was at 292.25. On Saturday, RBU went to 330.25, Victoria Memorial to 242.5 and Ashok Vihar to 293. And although things slightly improved on Sunday (probably because it was a holiday) with RBU at 355, 246, at VM and 369 at AV, things went south for Kolkata after that.

Experts are of the opinion that most of India is experimenting by mixing bio-fuel with diesel to reduce the level of PM in the air. However, Kolkata is severely lacking in that section. But since it has become the most polluted city in India, let’s hope the authorities in charge of dealing with situations like this, get their act together and make the city’s air breathable again.

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