Chandigarh, October 20: With Diwali approaching, Chandigarh’s weather has turned pleasantly cool, but the air quality has taken a turn for the worse. The city’s Air Quality Index has reached a “moderate” level of 135, up from below 100 a week ago, officials said.
Night temperatures have dropped to 17°C, while afternoons remain warm at 34°C. At 8 am on Saturday, PM2.5 concentrations touched 213 at the Sector 22 Observatory, indicating a buildup of fine pollutants.
Meteorologists caution that cold nights will cause pollutants to settle closer to the ground, aggravating air quality in the early hours. The trend mirrors last year, when Chandigarh’s pollution level ranked among the top three cities nationally. Experts attribute the spike to emissions drifting in from Baddi’s industrial areas, which combine with local pollutants and intensify as temperatures fall at night.
