Summary:
This year, the air quality index in the north Kolkata neighbourhood has strayed beyond the 400-mark thrice, twice in November and once in December. “This higher AQI (average of PM2.5 count) in the ambient air exposes our children to toxic air during their travel to school. KOLKATA: At 9pm on Wednesday, north Kolkata residents unwittingly smoked an equivalent of 22 cigarettes each just by breathing in the foul air with the PM2.5 count as high as 500 g/m3. By the model published in Barley Earth, the thumb rule is smoking 1 cigarette is equivalent to 22 µg/m3 of PM2.5 in the ambient air. But it's vice-like grip is closing in on everyone,” said Subhas Dutta, city’s most well-known environment crusader..