Delhi air quality worsens again, stays ‘very poor’
The AQI was slightly worse than the 348 recorded on Monday, and significantly higher than the 301 on Sunday
Pollution levels in Delhi deteriorated on Tuesday but stayed in the “very poor” zone for the fourth straight day, as the city recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) reading of 372, according to the national bulletin released by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The AQI was slightly worse than the 348 recorded on Monday, and significantly higher than the 301 on Sunday.
Officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday, winds reached speeds of up to 15kmph in Palam and Safdarjung — the highest since the western disturbance on November 10 brought light rain to the city. However, the wind on Tuesday was blowing in a northwesterly direction, bringing with it smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, leading to the slight deterioration in air quality.
The AQI in all other NCR cities also remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday with Noida at 330, Greater Noida at 304, Gurugram at 331, and Ghaziabad at 346.
“The wind speed is likely to reduce to 10-12kmph by Wednesday afternoon,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.
Data from the Decision Support System (DSS) on source contribution to Delhi pollution levels showed that the city’s transport sector contributed to 10.7% of the Capital’s PM2.5 load, followed by biomass burning at 10.2%. With wind speed expected to reduce and wind direction still northwesterly, the contribution of biomass burning is expected to increase on Wednesday to around 14%.
According to CPCB forecasts, pollution levels in the city are likely to remain in the “very poor” zone for the next six days. “The predominant surface wind is likely to be calm during morning hours and coming from Northwest or northeast directions with wind speed up to four kmph during daytime and mainly clear sky with shallow to moderate fog in the morning,” the forecast said.
The Capital also recorded the lowest maximum temperature of this winter season on Tuesday at 26.2 degrees Celsius (°C), two degrees below normal for this time of the year. This was also equal to the high on October 17, a day when gusty winds accompanied by rain had lashed parts of the national capital, leading to a noticeable nip in the air.
The minimum temperature, meanwhile, was 11.5°C, one degree below normal.
According to IMD forecasts, the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain around the same mark for the next couple of days, which may also result in shallow fog in the morning.