DoE urges city dwellers to wear face mask

The Department of Environment (DoE) has asked city dwellers to wear face masks when they go outside as the city’s air quality index (AQI) already has deteriorated and it has reached to very unhealthy position.

“Wearing face mask for city dwellers outside is a must,” said a DoE press release today.

The environment authority issued this alert for the inhabitants of the capital and its adjacent areas as the AQI on Monday at 10 am reached more than 250, according to the latest air quality monitoring report.  

At the same time, sensitive people like the ailing, the elderly and kids also have been asked not to go outside of their houses unless an emergency, said the release.

The air quality index is changing every hour, said the environment authority, adding that the air quality most of the time reaches from unhealthy to vulnerable situations in the city and its adjacent areas during the dry season.