No respite for Delhi, air quality reels under ‘very poor’ category
The situation remained uneasy for residents of the national capital on Saturday with the average air quality index witnessing no improvement, reeling under the 'very poor' category.
As the fire cracker ban was widely flouted in the national capital, the air quality in Delhi deteriorated to the “severe” category a day after Diwali on Sunday.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) at ITO area and Anand Vihar recorded as 461 and 478 respectively, according to Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data.
As reported, the AQI for PM 2.5 pollutant stood at 460 in Pusa, 475 in Patparganj, 450 in Lodhi Road, 491 in Ashok Vihar, 500 in Jahangirpuri and 442 in the IGI airport area. An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered moderate, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301- 400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’, while the AQI above 500 falls in the severe plus category.
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The share of stubble burning in PM 2.5 also increased from 14 per cent on Friday to 32 per cent on Saturday owing to transport-level North-Westerly winds with adequate speed, SAFAR said.
“Isolated to scattered rainfall under the influence of fresh Western Disturbance by November 15 is also expected. These factors will greatly help in flushing out the impact of any additional locally generated emissions and biomass related impact to make AQI in the lower end of very poor by November 16,” SAFAR’s official forecast said.
Today morning, a thick blanket of smog was visible in the city which has widely reduced the visibility.
Many Delhiites ignored the cracker ban in the city, on Saturday night, the AQI was recorded as 414 — the worst AQI in the city since 2016 on Diwali. On Friday, it dipped to 339 — in the ‘very poor’ category.
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