Cyclone Mandous situated in the Bay of Bengal brought high levels of pollution from India to Sri Lanka forcing schools to be closed last Friday.
The cyclone was situated in the Bay of Bengal, with winds blowing anti-clockwise around the central low pressure, sweeping the polluted air from India across the Palk strait into Sri Lanka. Subsequently, this merged with Sri Lanka’s local air pollution, leading to unhealthy pollutant concentrations that created a haze across parts of the country, including the capital, Colombo.
Particulate matter refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air, and is split into two categories depending on diameter; up to 2.5 microns (0.0025mm, PM2.5) or up to 10 microns (0.01mm, PM10).
PM2.5 and PM10 are produced in multiple ways, including domestic combustion, road transport and industrial processes.
These particles are fine enough to be inhaled into the lungs, resulting in an assortment of consequences to human health in high concentrations – most commonly lung disease. These unhealthy concentrations are likely to last until the end of this week, when the particulates are deposited on the ground or in the ocean.
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