4 of 38 Delhi stations breach 500 mark on AQI scale

The overall average AQI, as recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), for Delhi at 4pm Friday was 484, the worst since November 2017 when it had touched 486.

At least four of the 38 stations breached the 500 mark, the highest level of pollution on the air quality index (AQI) scale, while more than 20 stations recorded AQI above 480 on Friday afternoon, when pollution levels shot beyond the ‘emergency’ category in the national capital.

The 24-hour average AQI at most of the monitoring stations was near 500. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The overall average AQI, as recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), for Delhi at 4pm Friday was 484, the worst since November 2017 when it had touched 486.

A senior CPCB official said, “Beyond 500, the values are not recorded, which means that if a station is showing an AQI of 500, the values could be anywhere above 500. It could be even 900, we wouldn’t know. What matters is the PM (particulate matter) concentration, based on which measures are taken to curb pollution.”

At 4.30pm, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh and Mundka recorded the AQI at 500. Also, as per the CPCB data, the PM concentration shot up to 10 times the permissible limit in some parts of the city, including Dwarka, Bawana, Anand Vihar and Wazirpur.

The PM 2.5 level in Bawana, an industrial area in northwest Delhi, was 690ug/m3, 11.5 times the national safe limit of 60ug/m3.

In Dwarka, the PM 2.5 concentration was 620ug/m3. At Wazirpur and Anand Vihar, the levels were 668ug/m3 and 636ug/m3, respectively, all about the 10 times the safe limit.

PM 2.5, or fine particulate matter, is the most prominent pollutant in Delhi’s air and triggers severe respiratory distress.

All areas are listed under the ‘13 major pollution hot spots’ in the city, as identified by the Delhi government. The 24-hour average AQI at most of these monitoring stations was near 500.

At 8pm Friday, the AQI in Dwarka’s Sector 8 was 500 while that in Bawana was 497. In Anand Vihar, it was recorded as 495, while that of Wazirpur was 493.

This alarming figures are despite area-specific action plans being prepared for each of these hot spots this year, a first such exercise by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

The plan included intensive checks on burning of plastic and rubber waste in industrial areas. Also, specific timelines were given for controlling polluting activities such as dumping of construction debris, increase sprinkling of water on major stretches and repair of unpaved roads.

Residents in Dwarka on Friday lodged a complaint about a massive fire raging through a stack of dried leaves since Thursday evening. The fire was spotted near Dwarka’s Sector 21 where a tree-felling exercise is being undertaken up by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the Dwarka Expressway project.

“Heaps of dry leaves was set on fire and its fumes could be seen from far away. This is not the first time a fire has been lit here. We had lodged a complaint with the civic agency as well as the CPCB to take action against the violators,” Purshottam Behl, a member of Dwarka Forum, a residents’ group, said.