Air quality in 7 Odisha towns slips into ‘very poor’ category; Talcher ‘most polluted’ in India

Bhubaneswar: The air quality in altogether 10 urban areas across the country, including seven in Odisha, was declared as ‘very poor’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) today.  

The air quality in Angul, Balasore, Baripada, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Keonjhar and Talcher in Odisha and three other towns—Tirupati, Bikaner and Singrauli—across the country was categorized as very poor by the CPCB in its Air Quality Index (AQI) on Friday.

 With an AQI value of 380, Talcher in Odisha’s Angul district was declared as the ‘most polluted’ town in India. Angul is the second most polluted town in the country with an AQI value of 346, revealed the CPCB data.

The AQI value for Balasore was 318 while it was 312 for Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, 317 for Bhubaneswar in Khurda district, 324 for Cuttack, 311 for Keonjhar, 329 for Bikaner in Rajasthan, 320 for Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and 341 for Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, said the CPCB.

Experts, meanwhile, warned that prolonged exposure to very poor quality air (air pollution) may cause respiratory illness among people.