No super Sunday: AQI likely to turn ‘very poor’ in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The city's air quality deteriorated further on Thursday, with the air quality index (AQI) increasing to 285, placing it at the higher end of the ‘poor' category. It is likely to worsen and enter the ‘very poor' category by Sunday.
The air quality remained in the ‘very poor' category throughout the day at over 14 stations, with AQI surpassing 300.Mundka was the most polluted, with an AQI of 386, followed by Jahangirpuri (360) and Patparganj (350).
However, the AQI of Anand Vihar, which was in the ‘severe' category on Tuesday and Wednesday, was unavailable on Thursday. Anand Vihar's AQI was 424 on Tuesday and 429 on Wednesday. Central Pollution Control Board, which calculates AQI, did not respond to TOI's queries.
Experts said local and regional emissions continued to remain high, with meteorological conditions hampering their dispersion. "Wind turned calm during the night, causing the accumulation of pollutants," said Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairman of Skymet Meteorology.
The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 was less than 1% on Thursday, according to Decision Support System (DSS), which identifies the sources of pollution in Delhi's air quality. According to DSS, the contribution of Delhi's transport sector was the highest on Thursday in the city's PM2.5 at 12.25%, followed by emissions coming from Gautam Budh Nagar at 11.7% and Bulandshahr at 9.45%.

The air quality is forecast to remain ‘poor' on Friday and Saturday. However, it is predicted to enter the ‘very poor' category on Sunday, according to Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS), a forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences.
"The air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor' to ‘poor' zone during the subsequent six days from Oct 20. Meteorological conditions are highly unfavourable for the effective dispersion of pollutants. Additional emissions from stubble/waste burning are likely to deteriorate air quality significantly," stated EWS.
Delhi saw the first ‘poor' day of this season on Oct 13, with an AQI of 224, which rose to 234 on Oct 14. However, the air quality improved slightly on Tuesday and was at the higher end of the ‘moderate' category at 198. However, it again turned ‘poor' on Wednesday at 230.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature on Thursday rose to 36.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal, against 35.4 degrees a day earlier. The minimum temperature also rose to 20.3 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal on Wednesday.