Several areas in Hyderabad including the VIP areas have shown unhealthy quality of air. The Particulate Matter 2.5 touched 117 micrograms at Sanathnnagar, 127 at the US Consulate at Begumpet and 168 at the Zoo Park on Wednesday afternoon.

For people suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and infections of the lung, the situation does not look good and they should avoid outdoor activities, said the air-quality monitoring units.

The ongoing construction activity coupled with the congested roads has led to accumulation of dust across the city.

“The presence of dust particles in the air narrows the airways due to which there is difficulty in breathing. Young patients come in with problems of breathlessness as there is too much dust on city roads,” Dr Subhakar K, senior pulmonologist told Deccan Chronicle.

It was reported that the city-based Integrated Allergy Standards of India (IASI) conducted a survey at 20 multi-centres in the first week of December and found the PM 2.5 readings at the Assembly building, Secretariat and the CM camp office to be 140, 120 and 106 respectively.

The situation is worse in congested areas like RTC X Road which was rated `very poor' with 250 reading and Ameerpet X Road with 140 reading. The concentration of toxic particulate matter was even higher in these areas.

IASI team along with the city-based Aswini Allergy Centre recorded `severe' particulate matter at Madina in Old City with PM 2.5 level recorded at 350. 

“Inhaling toxic particulate matter for even three minutes at such spots can affect lung function capacity besides triggering several other health complications,” Dr Vyakarnam Nageshwar, allergy specialist & founder of IASI told the Times of India.