Capital's air quality moderate amid dry, hot weather.

ISLAMABAD -- The air quality of the federal capital on Monday was recorded moderate amid dry hot weather after increased humidity in the atmosphere reduced the ratio of ambient contaminating pollutants leaving the atmosphere risky for only vulnerable groups.

The air quality was moderate as suspended particles were recorded below permissible limits in the atmosphere due to persistent dry weather and heavy vehicular traffic on the roads.

The air quality data has been collected from different locations of the city by Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) that monitors air pollutants ratio for 24 hours based on three intervals of eight hours.

The Pak-EPA data revealed that the air quality throughout the three intervals of data monitoring remained low as the pollutants were below the permissible limits of national environmental quality standards (NEQS).

The hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which was a lethal atmospheric contaminant, remained 26.14 micro grammes per cubic meter on average, which was lower than the NEQS of 35 mic-programmes per cubic meter and denotes the air quality healthy.

The PM2.5 is generated through combustion of an engine, industrial emissions, burning garbage or inflammable material and dust blown by fast moving cars plying on non-cemented patches of the roads. Moreover, the frequent forest fires in the federal capital also created high suspended particles, dust and particulate matter in the...