According to the available data, the PM2.5 and PM10 particulate levels in the air in Kochi were way above the prescribed standards.
Smoke rising from the Brahmapuram waste plant fire. (File pic/Screengrab)
The fire that occurred in a wasteyard in Brahmapuram of the Ernakulam district in Kerala worsened the air quality in parts of Kochi on Sunday, 5 March.
The fire continued to smoulder even as the Kerala government was making all possible efforts to extinguish the three-day-long blaze. The fire broke out in the waste dumped at the plant on Thursday.
According to the police, 25 fire-fighting units — including fire-tenders from the Thrissur, Kottayam, and Idukki districts, as well as those of the Indian Navy and Bharat Petroleum — had been battling the blaze since 7 am on Sunday, and more are expected to arrive there.
“The fire is under control now. Hopefully, it would be extinguished by evening,” a senior police officer in the area said.
However, as the fire continues to burn on, the harmful smoke generated by it polluted the air quality of the areas surrounding the plant as well as parts of the port city.
According to the data on the Kerala Pollution Control Board website, the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 particulates in the air in Kochi were way above the prescribed standards.
The level of PM2.5 — tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can enter deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream — was found to be 279.58 micrograms per cubic metres (ug/m3), at around 8.30 am on Sunday, as against the normal standard of 60.
Levels of PM10, particles with a diameter less than 10 micrometres, were recorded at 324.65, as against a normal of 100.
With parts of Kochi engulfed in smoke due to the fire, the state government advised everyone to stay indoors on Sunday as a precaution.
Ernakulam District Collector Dr Renu Raj said efforts are on to douse the fire, which broke out two days ago, and expressed hope that the situation could be brought under control by Sunday evening.
Amid concerns over the worsening air quality in Kochi, the collector, too, appealed to the people to stay home on Sunday.
“The administration is fully prepared to tackle any sort of health emergency arising out of the current situation,” Raj told reporters in Kochi after attending a high-level meeting convened by state Chief Secretary VP Joy and attended by officials of the various departments.
At the meeting, the chief secretary directed the police commissioner of Kochi City to probe the reasons behind the fire at the plant.
The decision was taken pursuant to a high-level meeting, chaired by the Kerala chief secretary, of senior officers of the state government and other state and central agencies on the ongoing Brahmapuram fire incident.
Officials said such incidents happen every year around this time due to the extreme heat.
(With PTI inputs)
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