Darbhanga air quality worst across country

The air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category in several cities ofBiharon the first day of 2023, owing to calm winds and dipping temperatures, fuelled by firewood.

Twelve cities of Bihar, including Patna, out of the 176 across the country had their air quality index (AQI) in severe zone, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin on Sunday. Darbhanga was the most polluted town in the country with the Average pollutant reading of 475, closely followed by Bettiah with 464.
According to the CPCB’s bulletin, Samastipur recorded 460

AQI, Rajgir 455, Muzaffarpur 453, Katihar 452, Purnia 445, Bhagalpur 426, Begusarai 424, Chhapra 421 and Aurangabad 406. Patna also registered the AQI at 413. The AQI level of five cities of Bihar was in ‘very poor’ category while Kishanganj was in ‘poor’ zone.