Anu Kuruvilla By Express News Service KOCHI: Come summer, Kochi’s air quality plummets. Not this year. A look at the ambient Air Quality Index (AQI) data released by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) presents a surprising shift in the trend. As per the data, the AQI of not only Kochi but also major cities in the state has improved. “Even though the parameters are showing only a slight improvement, it is good news,” said M A Baiju, chief environmental engineer, Pollution Control Board, Kochi. According to him, usually from January till June, the air quality deteriorates. “The dust kicked up by the vehicles on the roads and particulate matter from the various construction sites escape into the atmosphere due to the dry conditions prevalent in summer,” he said. “However, we are surprised by the values this time around,” he said. According to Baiju, there may be many explanations. “However, we can arrive at a definite one only after analysing and discussing the values with the experts,” he said. “One easy explanation might be the variation in the climatic conditions. Unlike in the past, this year we are seeing misty conditions in the early mornings. This might be one reason behind the reduction in the AQI values.” “The effect of wind might be another explanation. The wind disperses the particulate matter away from the vicinity of the monitoring equipment and hence reducing its concentration to permissible limits,” he said. According to him, another factor is near completion of all the construction activities. “The work of the Vyttila flyover is nearing completion and the Metro getting commissioned,” he added. According to him, in the past years, the KSPCB used to direct the local self-government bodies to carry out sprinkling water on the roads. “This was to control dust. But, this time we have not seen any such activities around here. So, the explanation would be a change in climatic conditions,” According to Yedu Krishnan, PCB officer, the variation in NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) concentration seen in the data is due to the lack of a standard control value against which the data collected can be tallied. “The same can be said for the figures that show how much sun’s radiation is beating down on the state. The figures can be seen in red in the charts provided by the KSPCB because we don’t have any standards to compare it with,” said Yedu. However, from January 5 till date, the AQI in the Kochi is showing a healthy trend, he added. Work over Another factor is near-completion of all the construction activities. “The work of the Vyttila flyover is nearing completion and the Metro is getting commissioned, the AQI has improved,” said M A Baiju, chief environmental engineer, PCB, Kochi.

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