MUMBAI: It's a recorded fact that levels of toxic gases like sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides increase alarmingly during the Diwali season due to fire crackers.
So this time the environmental cell of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) will carry out a detailed pollution check from November 1 to 3.
"We will be conducting air pollution tests on three Diwali nights to know precisely the ill effects of fire crackers," said deputy municipal commissioner (environment) Prakash Sanglikar.
Scientist in charge of the BMC environmental laboratory in Khar M S Ghatge added that sample tests will be conducted in suburban areas such as Andheri, Borivli, Khar and Chembur.
The regional officer of MPCB, Ajay Deshpande, also informed that apart from recording air pollutant levels, a comprehensive noise pollution check will also be carried out in several parts of the city.
According to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), there has been a significant increase in air pollution during this festive season over the years.
"However, Mumbai is lucky to be blessed with sea breeze that naturally cleans up most of the pollutants. But that is still not enough as fire crackers are exploded practically all over the city," said NEERI scientist Rakesh Kumar.
He added that apart from sulphur and nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is also detected in the air during Diwali. These are all quite harmful to people suffering from respiratory problems like asthma.
