Home / Environment / Lucknow Choked: Smog Dims City Skies
Lucknow Choked: Smog Dims City Skies
14 Nov
Summary
- Lucknow experienced smog due to pollutants and morning mist.
- The city's air quality index reached 218, rated as 'poor'.
- Expert suggests adding particle number concentration monitoring.
On Friday morning, Lucknow experienced a hazy sky as a combination of pollutants and morning mist formed smog. Slow wind speeds prevented the dispersal of atmospheric aerosols, leading to a significant drop in air quality. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 218, placing it in the 'poor' category for the second day in a row.
This condition poses a threat to the respiratory health of citizens. Environmental and atmospheric chemist Alfred J. Lawrence highlighted the need for improved air pollution measurement methods in Lucknow, beyond just PM2.5 mass concentration. He emphasized that measuring Particle Number Concentration (PNC) is crucial for a complete assessment of public exposure to airborne particles.
Lawrence explained that PNC quantifies the number of particles per unit volume of air, making it effective in detecting ultrafine particles smaller than 100 nanometers. While PM2.5 indicates the total mass of particulate matter, PNC reveals the sheer quantity of particles. Both metrics are vital, as a high count of ultrafine particles might be underestimated when considering only their combined weight.
