ISLAMABAD: The air quality of the federal capital on Saturday was recorded as healthy whereas a slight increase was witnessed in the air pollutants ratio that remained below permissible limits due to less vehicular traffic on roads after scorching heat reduced masses to limited outdoor visits.
The air quality data has been collected by 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 different locations.
The Pak-EPA data revealed that the air quality throughout the three intervals of data monitoring remained low as the pollutants were less than the permissible limits of national environmental quality standards (NEQS).
The hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which was a lethal atmospheric contaminant, remained at 24.2 micrograms per cubic meter on average which is below the NEQS of 35 micrograms per cubic meter and denotes the air quality healthy.
PM2.5 is generated through combustion of engines, industrial emissions, burning garbage or inflammable material and dust blown up by fast-moving cars plying non-cemented patches of the roads.
However, a slight jump in previous days was mainly due to congestion of automobiles plying roads as tourists thronged the capital’s recreational spots, an official of EPA told APP.
The nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were recorded below permissible ratio as it were recorded 5.69 and 16.04 micrograms per cubic meter in the past 24 hours in the atmosphere against the NEQS of 80 and 120 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.
These effluents were mainly produced during the operational activities of industrial plants and factories that were already under control, he said.
He urged the masses with respiratory conditions and other critical heart or lung diseases to avoid prolonged outdoor visits and wear face coverings and goggles when the air quality is unhealthy while venturing outdoors.