The ambient air quality dropped to unhealthy levels in several main cities of the country yesterday, National Building Research Organization (NBRO) Environmental Division Director Sarath Premasiri said, observing that the strong winds coming from the direction of India was the main reason for that occurrence.
He told the Daily News yesterday that the air quality would improve today, following the landfall of the cyclonic storm “Mandous”.
The Cyclone, which was located over Southwest Bay of Bengal (300km north-east of Trincomalee) last morning, was to cross North Tamil-Nadu, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coast around midnight.The fog or misty skies were observed in many parts of the island yesterday due to the influence of the cyclone, which also led to dust particles from the Indian air space to enter the Sri Lankan air space.
The Air Quality Index Level, with respect to PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter), remained “very unhealthy” (this category means that “everyone may experience more serious health effects”) in Colombo 7, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Vavuniya, Kandy, Kegalle, Mullaitivu, and Polonnaruwa, and “unhealthy” (this category means that “everyone may begin to experience health effects; member of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects”) in Galle, Puttalam, Badulla, and Trincomalee, on Wednesday, according to the NBRO’s daily measurements.The air quality level at Ratnapura, Embilipitiya, Kalutara, Hambantota was categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.
The NBRO added that the air quality level within the last 24 hours remained “very unhealthy” in most of the cities.Premasiri strongly recommended wearing the facemask when the ambient air quality is poor, to minimize health risks. Those who are sensitive to particle pollution may also consider shortening the amount of time they are active outdoors.
According to the Indian media reports, the air quality had been poor and the fog had been prevalent in many cities of India throughout this week.
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