With Kali Puja and Diwali just around the corner, overcast skies and untimely rain has begun to worry those enthusiastic about firecrackers. The run-up to the celebrations has been spoilt by the incessant rains. Sellers are particularly worried as rains are no condition to burst firecrackers. For the past couple of days, there has been loss in business as people have not stepped out to shop for crackers due to the rains throughout the day.
But green activists feel that this may be a blessing in disguise and if rains continue, lower number of firecrackers burst will mean that the air quality will remain far better than it is during this time of the year. Rains also help to wash down the floating pollutants in air.
Every year the air quality suffers during this time due to rise in pollutants post Kali Puja and Diwali. Last year, during Kali Puja and Diwali, the air in Kolkata was 500 AQI (Air Quality Index), which was 20 times higher than the limit prescribed as safe by the World Health Organisation. AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. The rain, which is the cause of worry for people now, may bring relief to the older, ailing and infants who face breathing problems during the week.
However, the weather office of Alipore has said that though the rains will continue till Sunday, the sky will remain mostly clear on Kali Puja and Diwali. However, heavy rainfall has been predicted till Sunday in Kolkata, Murshidabad, Bankura, Birbhum, East and West Burdwan, East and West Midnapore, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, Malda and Purulia. The same goes most north Bengal districts.
