Fri Nov 01 07:47:31 UTC 2024: ## Hyderabad Choked by Diwali Fireworks, Air Quality Plunges to Hazardous Levels
**HYDERABAD, November 1, 2024** – Despite a 10 p.m. curfew on firecracker use, Hyderabad’s air quality plummeted to hazardous levels on Thursday night, October 31, as citizens celebrated Deepavali with a flurry of fireworks.
According to monitoring stations, PM2.5 levels – a key indicator of air pollution – spiked to alarming highs, reaching 475 at the U.S. Consulate observatory, 454 in Kapra, and 472 in Sanathnagar. Five of the Central Pollution Control Board’s real-time monitoring stations went offline around 10 p.m. as the air quality deteriorated.
The Sanathnagar observatory, which was the only functioning station in 2022, recorded a PM2.5 level of 759 at 10 p.m. on October 24 that year. This year, the station logged the maximum of 472 PM2.5 after coming back online at 1 a.m. on Friday.
While the monitoring station showed a blank between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. for PM2.5, it continued to record other parameters like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone.
The pollution levels peaked after 10 p.m. before gradually dropping back to the normal range.
This incident highlights the continued challenge of managing air pollution during festivals, despite efforts to regulate firecracker use.
First Piper 