Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The air quality of the federal capital on Saturday was recorded 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 Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) that 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 24.2 micro grammes per cubic meter on average which is below the NEQS of 35 mic-programmes per cubic meter and denotes the air quality healthy.

The PM2.5 is generated through combustion of an engine, industrial emissions, burning garbage or inflammable material and dust blown up by fast moving cars plying on non-cemented patches of the roads.

However, a slight jump in previous days was mainly due to congestion of automobiles plying on the roads as tourists thronged to the capital’s recreational spots, an official of EPA told APP.

The nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were recorded below the permissible ratio as it was recorded 5.69 and 16.04 micro-grammes per cubic meter in past 24 hours in the atmosphere against the NEQS of 80 and 120 micro-grammes 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 lungs diseases to avoid prolonged outdoor visits and wear face coverings and goggles when the air quality is unhealthy while venturing outdoors.