The citys air quality index (AQI), which turned poor on Wednesday, is likely to deteriorate further with calm winds, low temperature and anthropogenic activities leading to accumulation of pollutants.
According to the Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) daily bulletin, Patnas overall AQI was recorded at 235 at 4pm on Wednesday, a sharp spike from 203 a day before. It was the Average of the AQI measured by five continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations at BIT-Patna (277), Eco Park (273), S K Memorial Hall (199), DRM Office-Khagaul (200), andPatnaCity (228).
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. A poor AQI essentially means that people may suffer from breathing problems on prolonged exposure to the air.