The Ministry of Environment has requested the public in Colombo, Kandy, Rathnapura, Jaffna, and Vavuniya districts to be cautious of high air pollution.
Secretary to the ministry Dr. Anil Jasinghe advised children and the elderly with respiratory and heart diseases to wear a face mask during outdoor activities.
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) said the air quality in several parts of Sri Lanka has deteriorated due to air pollution from India entering Sri Lanka’s air space through the winds.
The NBRO has issued alerts to several areas in which air quality is reported to have been severely affected today.
The alerts as per the Air Quality Index levels as of 12. 20 pm today are as follows:
- ‘Magenta’ alert (Extremely unhealthy):
Battaramulla – 109
Puttalam – 99
- ‘Purple’ alert (Very unhealthy):
Jaffna – 75
Mannar – 72
Kegalle – 79
- ‘Red’ alert (Unhealthy):
Dambulla – 70
Polonnaruwa – 53
Mullaitivu – 53
- ‘Orange’ alert (Unhealthy for sensitive groups):
Hambantota – 47
- ‘Green’ alert (Good):
Badulla – 16
(NewsWire)
