Hyderabad: The air quality in various areas of the city, notably the industrial clusters of Balanagar and Uppal, improved significantly in July.

Even the air quality in Charminar has improved, as evidenced by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board's (TSPCB) regular data collected from around the city.

The same could hardly be true of Jubilee Hills and Paradise's ever-bustling traffic main corridors. When compared to most other sections of the city, the improvement in air quality has been minimal in these two areas of the city, which see significant vehicle traffic during most of the day and late into the night and are studded with bustling commercial zones.

According to the PCB records, the AQI readings began to improve at the beginning of July and continued to improve until the end of the month.

Industrial regions like Balanagar and Uppal, which are known for their high levels of pollution, had a significant improvement in air quality this month. On July 2, the National Air Quality Monitoring Program (NAMP) station at Balanagar and Uppal reported AQIs of 117 and 111, respectively. On July 28, the identical NAMP stations recorded AQIs of 61 and 55, a 56-point difference.

In this perspective, it's critical to realise that a low AQI indicates less pollution. This implies that during the previous month, the AQI in Balanagar improved from a moderate range (101-200) to a good range (51-100). All of the other locations are likewise good.

The AQI at Charminar, Jubilee Hills, Paradise, and Jeedimetla NAMP stations improved as well. Though the differences were minor in those areas, Charminar had a 35-point difference, as the AQI was 100 on July 2 and 65 on July 28.

The AQI is calculated using tiny particulate matter, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, and ammonia levels. While particulate matter levels fell consistently throughout July, other pollutants climbed somewhat in certain locations and reduced in others.

The recent rains can be credited with the drop in particulate matter levels since moist conditions reduce suspended particles in the air.