Air quality in Bhiwani

Is Bhiwani a city with polluted air?

Bhiwani is a city located in the Indian state of Haryana, in the northern section of the country and within the Punjab region. Bhiwani itself is also a municipal council within the Bhiwani district, one of the 22 districts found within Haryana state.

In May of 2021, Bhiwani came in with a US AQI reading of 157, an extremely high reading that placed it in the ‘unhealthy’ ratings bracket. As the name indicates, this is a very poor level of air quality that would present numerous issues to those who are subject to breathing it, with many of these issues being discussed at the end of the article.

As well as having this poor US AQI reading show up over 2021, looking back at the year of 2020, one can see that Bhiwani also came in with a high yearly average, taken in the form of a PM2.5 reading. Bhiwani came in with a PM2.5 reading of 39 μg/m³, placing it in the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ bracket, which requires a PM2.5 reading of anywhere between 35.5 to 55.4 μg/m³ to be classified as such. This reading also placed Bhiwani in 83^rd place out of all cities ranked in India over 2020, as well as in 216^th place out of all cities ranked worldwide in the same year.

What are some of the pollutants found in Bhiwani?

A majority of the main pollutants found within Bhiwani would be able to trace their origin to one of the many combustion sources occurring throughout the city, as well as in nearby rural villages or towns. Smoke from numerous fires, either man-made or naturally occurring can drift many miles to adjacent cities and permeate the atmosphere there, getting caught between the high rise buildings and urban infrastructure, causing the pollution levels to spike dramatically.

Other sources include the various areas that have large amounts of fine particles emanating from them, often giving off materials belonging to both the PM2.5 and PM10 category, which can include finely ground gravel, road dust, silica particles and soot (which also finds its creation from vehicle engines and factory boilers).

Further pollutants would be ones such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃), all of which go into the calculation of the overall US AQI level, which itself is a composite number made up from the volumes of the main pollutants found in the air, with the above mentioned ones all being taken into account. Other pollutants include black carbon (the main component in soot and also a highly dangerous form of PM2.5, having both carcinogenic and climate changing properties), as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), both of which see their release from the incomplete or poor combustion of both organic matter and fossil fuels.

Some examples of VOCs include benzene, styrene, xylene, methylene chloride, toluene and formaldehyde. They all present a great risk to human health and due to their volatile nature, are able to remain in a gaseous state even at lower temperatures, hence making them easier to inhale even during periods of cooler weather, as is more common in Northern India. Other pollutants that may be found around various industrial areas or near the open burning of refuse and garbage (which can contain all manner of highly dangerous materials which should be disposed of safely and not burnt) can include ones such as mercury, lead and cadmium, along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans.

When does the air pollution level go to its highest in Bhiwani?

Observing the PM2.5 levels taken once again from the data recorded over 2020, it can be seen that the months of January through to March, as well as September to December all had the highest readings of pollution present.

Out of all of these months, six of them came in with a ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ rating, whilst one came in with a ‘unhealthy’ rating, which was January with its reading of 59.6 μg/m³. This made it the most polluted month of the year and a time in which the atmosphere would be at its most heavily permeated with smoke, haze, soot and all manner of dangerous particulate matter and other contaminants.

At what time of the year is the air quality cleanest in Bhiwani?

In contrast to the previous question, the middle months of the year showed the lowest levels of air pollution present, relatively speaking, as they were still quite high when regarded from an international perspective, but nevertheless managed to be the cleanest in Bhiwani.

April through to August had the best readings of PM2.5, all of which fell into the ‘moderate’ ratings bracket, which requires a reading of 12.1 to 35.4 μg/m³. Their readings were 34.8 μg/m³, 31.1 μg/m³, 31.6 μg/m³, 30.3 μg/m³ and 26.1 μg/m³ respectively, making August the cleanest month of the year with its reading of 26.1 μg/m³.

What health problems can arise from breathing polluted air in Bhiwani?

There are various health issues that one may be subject to when breathing polluted air during PM2.5 spikes, and although a majority of them typically attack the lungs and in more severe cases the cardiac system, there are many other areas of the body that can be affected.

Due to the extremely small size of PM2.5, it can enter into the bloodstream via the alveoli in the lungs, and once there can cause all manner of issues, damaging the blood vessels as well as the bodies natural filtration systems, namely the renal and hepatic systems, or kidneys and liver, along with even damaging the reproductive system and lowering fertility rates.

Cancer rates can also go up, both of the lungs and the skin, but as mentioned also possible in the furthest reaches of the body, particularly when carcinogenic material enters the bloodstream. Skin irritation can occur, as well as aggravation to the mucous membranes such as the nose, ears, eyes and mouth. A number of skin conditions can occur as a result, with ones such as acne, atopic dermatitis and other various rashes all becoming possible.

Other pertinent conditions include ones such as pneumonia and bronchitis, along with aggravated forms of asthma and emphysema, all of which fall under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) bracket. Heart attacks, strokes, arrythmias and other conditions with terminal consequences may also make themselves apparent, particularly amongst vulnerable members of the population as well as those that suffer from pre-existing health conditions, particularly or the cardiac or pulmonary variety, as well as those that have a general level of poor health or bad habits such as smoking which can hasten the progression of these illnesses.