Ludhiana: Ludhiana got some respite from the season’s worst air Wednesday, but there was little reason to breathe easy. The city’s AQI dropped sharply from 314 a day earlier to 209, yet remained in the ‘poor’ category, extending a Nov spell in which 10 of the first 11 days have recorded ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ air.According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Wednesday’s AQI of 209 falls in the ‘poor’ category, which can cause “breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure”.The improvement came after the AQI surged to 314 Tuesday, the city’s highest reading since Nov 2, 2024, when it touched 339. Tuesday’s level fell in the ‘very poor’ category, associated with the risk of respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.The Nov trend underlines the persistence of the pollution spell. Of the first 11 days of the month, Ludhiana recorded ‘moderate’ air on only one day, while nine days were ‘poor’ and one ‘very poor’.The deterioration has been particularly sharp over the past few days. AQI climbed from 222 on Nov 7 to 237 on Nov 8 and 292 on Nov 9 before touching 314 on Nov 10. It dropped to 209 Wednesday.Among the Punjab cities for which figures were available Wednesday, Jalandhar recorded the highest AQI at 251, followed by Khanna at 214 and Ludhiana at 209. Rupnagar, at 45, recorded the lowest level among the cities listed in the data.PPCB officials could not be contacted for comment. Sources in the pollution control board, however, said air quality was expected to improve over the next few days. They attributed a significant part of the pollution load to continued bursting of firecrackers.The sources said while stubble burning incidents had increased in Ludhiana district, their number was not large enough, in their assessment, to make a major difference to the city’s AQI.For residents, however, the prolonged spell of polluted air is already taking a toll. Narinder Singh, a resident, said he had seen elderly people struggling to breathe and was hoping rainfall or stronger winds would help clear the air.Another resident said his family was restricting outdoor movement because of the pollution and was even considering heading to the hills for a few days to escape the poor air.
