As the first metro of the morning left Mahanayak Uttam Kumar Station, the surrounding environment was seen shrouded in smoke. There was not a trace of the clear, cloudless blue sky that is usually visible on winter mornings. This has been the condition of Kolkata's sky for the past few days. Even as the day progresses and sunlight appears, it lacks intensity. Fog has covered the faces of several large buildings in Kolkata, including Victoria and The Forty-Two.
The worst condition is in the Victoria Memorial and adjacent areas. According to Pollution Control Board data, the average AQI at the Victoria Memorial area was 277 at 8 AM on Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon, this level had crossed the 300 mark. On the first day of this month, the average AQI in this area was 303. The worst condition occurred on December 12. On this day, the AQI level was 366. According to the Pollution Control Board's calculation, this falls in the 'very poor' category.
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According to the 8 AM update, what is the average AQI of Kolkata's monitoring stations?
Victoria Memorial - 277
Jadavpur - 245
Ballygunge - 167
Rabindra Sarobar - 107
Rabindra Bharati - 169
Fort William - 136
Kolkata city's average AQI over the past few days has also been quite alarming. Excluding December 15, from December 12 to December 22, Kolkata's average AQI has been above 250. On two days, it crossed the 300 mark as well. As a result, concerns are growing about whether Kolkata's air quality will become like Delhi's in the near future.
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Victoria's AQI is raising concerns. According to meteorologists, the Maidan and Victoria Memorial are located at the very heart of Kolkata. There are many busy roads in the vicinity. Additionally, people are coming for sightseeing during winter. As a result, the combination of crowds and vehicular pollution on roads is increasing the amount of polluted particles in the air. Furthermore, they say that during winter, dry weather causes the soil to become loose. As a result, even slight wind can mix dust particles with the air. Analysts have stated that pollution is increasing for this reason.
