The overall AQI of Delhi stood at 398 at 11 am, which deteriorated from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
The overall AQI of Delhi stood at 398 at 11 am, which deteriorated from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
A thick blanket of haze enveloped Delhi on Saturday morning as the city’s air quality inched closer to the “severe” zone amid unfavorable weather conditions amidst low temperatures and calm winds and an increase in incidents of stubble burning in Punjab.
An official of the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) said officials will review the situation in the evening and may take a decision on implementing anti-pollution measures under the third phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Ban on construction and demolition activities, except for essential projects, and plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four wheelers in NCR.
Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 398 at 11 am, which deteriorated from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
Anand Vihar (AQI 454) remained the most polluted place in the capital. Wazirpur (439), Narela (423), Ashok Vihar (428), Vivek Vihar (427) and Jahangirpuri (438) were among the monitoring stations that recorded “severe” air quality.
The air quality in the neighboring cities of Ghaziabad (381), Noida (392), Greater Noida (398), Gurugram (360) and Faridabad (391) also touched the “severe” category.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”. .
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the concentration of lung-damaging particulate matter known as PM 2.5 was above 400 micrograms per cubic meter at 11 a.m., which is 60 micrograms per cubic meter safe. was almost seven times the limit. region.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that calm winds prevailed in the night. Moderate wind speed (up to 8 kmph) has been predicted during the day.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 15.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The maximum temperature is likely to be around 31 degree Celsius.
In colder conditions, the lower mixing height causes the pollutants to be trapped closer to the ground – the vertical height in which the pollutants remain suspended in the air.
A CAQM official said a decision on the implementation of restrictions under Phase III of GRAP is likely to be taken on Saturday evening.
If the AQI becomes “severe”, the authorities need to ban construction and demolition activities in the NCR, except for essential projects (such as railways, metro, airports, ISBTs, national security/defence-related projects of national importance). it occurs. Polluting activities such as plumbing, carpentry, interior decoration and electrical work.
Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers not operating on clean fuel and mining and related activities in NCR will also be banned.
State governments in Delhi-NCR may also ban BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four wheelers under Phase III. GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures in the capital and its surrounding areas according to the gravity of the situation.
According to the GRAP, the air quality in Delhi-NCR has been classified into four distinct stages: Stage I – ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI>450).
SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, has predicted that the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution is likely to increase in the coming days.
The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution has so far been low (up to 7 per cent), thanks to prolonged rains and slow transport-level winds in early October, which carried smoke from farm fires. Wasn’t strong enough to go. National Capital.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) on Friday reported 2,067 farm fires in Punjab, the highest so far this season. It recorded 124 and 34 cases of stubble burning in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh respectively on Friday.
Paddy stubble burning in adjoining states, coupled with adverse weather conditions, is a major reason for the alarming rise in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November. Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly remove crop residues before cultivating wheat and vegetables.
According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Punjab, 71,304 farm fires broke out between September 15 and November 30 last year and 83,002 farm fires occurred in the same period in 2020.
Last year, the share of farm fires in Delhi’s PM 2.5 pollution reached 48 per cent on November 7.