By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The federal capital’s air quality improved on Tuesday as a result of recent monsoon rains that pounded various parts of the country, which has helped reduce pollution. Due to the persistent rainy weather and limited vehicle traffic on the roads, the air quality was assessed as being healthy because the suspended particles and pollutants ratio were both within the permitted limits in the atmosphere. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), which monitors air pollutants ratio for 24 hours based on three intervals of eight hours of data collection from various sites, is the source of the air quality information.
The Pak-EPA data showed that the contaminants were below the allowable thresholds of national environmental quality requirements throughout the three data monitoring intervals, keeping the air quality high (NEQS). The average concentration of the dangerous air pollutant PM2.5, a deadly atmospheric contaminant, was 9.66 micrograms per cubic metre, which is greater than the NEQS of 35 micrograms per cubic metre and indicates bad air quality. The combustion of an engine, industrial pollutants, the burning of trash or combustible materials, and dust kicked up by fast-moving vehicles travelling on unpaved sections of the road are the main sources of PM2.5.
Additionally, an EPA official claimed that the regular forest fires in the nation’s capital increased the amount of suspended particles, dust, and particulate matter in the air. Prior to the arrival of rain, the particle matter had exceeded the permitted limits beyond 40 microns, primarily because of the prolonged hot and dry conditions. In the past 24 hours, the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentrations in the atmosphere were 3.24 and 11.7 microgrammes per cubic metre, respectively, below the NEQS of 80 and 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.
According to him, the majority of these effluents were created during the normal operation of industries and industrial operations that were previously under control. He advised the general public to avoid lengthy outside visits, wear facial covers and goggles when going outside, and avoid prolonged outdoor visits if they had respiratory illnesses or other serious heart or lung diseases. The Met Office had also warned that a system of moist currents entering from the Arabian Sea would penetrate higher sections of the country and bring rain, wind, and thundershowers. From June 15 to June 23, the system was supposed to produce windy and rainy weather in various sections of the nation.
