Air Pollution Levels of several urban areas rise sharply

COLOMBO (News 1st): The rate of Air Pollution in four major urban cities of the country has risen sharply, the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) said on Saturday (Jan. 22). Very Poor Levels of Air Quality Index were reported in the areas of Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna, and Puttalam, Sarath Premasiri, who is a Senior Scientist of Air Quality Studies and the Director of Environment at the NBRO told News 1st. According to Scientist Sarath Premasiri, the cause for such increased rates of air pollution is due to the impact of polluted clouds present in the atmosphere to the North East of Sri Lanka, brought inwards given the prevailing Northeast monsoon winds. The Western, Northern, and North Eastern provinces could be specifically affected as a result of this, he added. "The air pollution in certain areas had risen compared to the others with the increasing use of fuels to generate electricity as well, which is also a leading cause of air pollution," Scientist Sarath Premasiri further noted.