E-Paper
Air quality nears severe, to deteriorate in next few days
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
Slow winds and little ventilation pushed up pollution levels in the national capital on Tuesday. The air quality almost nosedived into the ‘severe’ zone and is likely to deteriorate over the next few days, officials warned.
The overall air quality index (AQI) as recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 4 pm bulletin was 383 in the ‘very poor’ zone, as against 327, the previous day. The air quality is considered ‘severe’ when the AQI touches 401.
Some monitoring stations in Delhi already reeled under ‘severe’ air quality, including Anand Vihar (431), Mundka (414), Vivek Vihar (414) and Wazirpur (418) and Swarka (424).
Scientists at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that the air quality may deteriorate further due to unfavourable meteorological conditions on December 25. It may improve marginally on December 26 with wind speed picking up and is likely to plunge again on December 28-29.
“Winds have slowed down. Besides, there is a forecast of dense fog in the morning hours, which will make the air heavier. This will trap pollutants closer to the ground. Also, there was high moisture content in the morning hours that allow accumulation of pollutants,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, IMD’s head of regional weather forecasting centre (RWFC).
On Tuesday, the average wind speed was 6-8kmph, much less than 14-15kmph over the past two days. “There will be fluctuation in the pollution levels and it is expected to remain in the very poor zone, mainly because of weather conditions. We are tracking the situation,” said CPCB member secretary P Gargava.
According to CPCB officials, they have been receiving some complaints of waste burning on its Sameer app. Small fires lit by people to keep themselves warm in the winter are recorded every winter.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), ministry of earth science’s weather and air quality monitoring centre, forecast also said that from Tuesday, the AQI is likely to reach the higher end of the ‘very poor’ category in certain parts of the city.
“Low surface wind speed and low ventilation are forecasted for an extended period from December 27 and is likely to result in accumulation of pollutants. By December 29, the AQI is likely to touch higher levels,” said a senior SAFAR scientist.
Some regions such as northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and Vasundhara and Sahibabad in the national capital region (NCR) are likely to be the pollution ‘hot spots’ from Wednesday itself, the SAFAR forecast said.
