Delhi air takes severe hit, worse yet to come

NEW DELHI: After staying in the ‘very poor’ level till Thursday evening, the capital’s air quality index (AQI) again entered the ‘severe’ zone at 409.9 by 9pm. All other NCR cities, except for Ghaziabad, also saw pollution levels in the ‘severe’ zone. In Noida and Faridabad, AQI was 407 and in Gurgaon, 427, while Ghaziabad’s air was ‘very poor’ at 377.

On Tuesday, Delhi’s air quality reached ‘severe’ levels for the first time this season with AQI at 401. On Wednesday, the AQI improved slightly but was still ‘very poor’ at 358. Till 4pm on Thursday, it stayed in the same category at 393.




According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, though there are westerly disturbances, its impact on deteriorating air quality is expected only from Sunday. “There is moderate moisture in the air. This is likely to maximise by November 4 (Sunday), resulting in enhanced air holding capacity and faster growth in pollution levels,” a SAFAR scientist said. Surface wind speeds are calm (2.3kmph), which are not favourable for dispersion of pollutants, while the surface wind direction is southwesterly, which does not have any significant impact on pollution, he added. “

Stubble intrusion impact”, he said, “is marginal with moderate wind speed (9.3kmph) with fire counts very low”.

As per the CPCB central control room data, Delhi’s average PM10 and PM2.5 levels are about four times the safe standards. While the average PM10 levels at 6pm were recorded at 424 micrograms per cubic metre, PM2.5 was 234 micrograms per cubic metre. On Wednesday, PM10 levels were 386 and PM2.5, 208.

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) will monitor the situation very closely till November 10. EPCA has already banned construction activities in the national capital region (NCR) for this period and requested people to limit exposure to foul air. Coal and biomass-based industries have also been ordered to shut down from November 4 to 10. It had said because of the projected adverse weather conditions, the CPCB task force had advised it to bring in additional measures.