Stronger surface winds help Delhi breathe easier, AQI still very poor

Delhi recorded an AQI of 303 on Saturday, a day after reporting an air quality index of 346. Both values fall in the very poor category on the Central Pollution Control Board’s index

Delhi’s air quality improved marginally on Saturday even as continued to be in the very poor category with the but contribution of stubble fires to the overall pollution mix in Delhi going down to 17% from Friday’s 19%.

Smoke from stubble fires contributed to 17% of Delhi’s PM2.5 levels on Saturday, a reduction from 19% the previous day. (Rahul Singh)

Delhi recorded an AQI of 303 on Saturday, a day after reporting an air quality index of 346. Both values fall in the very poor category on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) index.

Experts, however, attributed the slight improvement in the air quality to strong surface winds that helped in dispersion of pollutants. According to the forecast by the Decision Support System of the ministry of earth sciences, the predominant surface wind is likely to come from the nortwest/north direction with speed of 8-16km per hour on Sunday. The wind direction will remain the same till Tuesday, and there is a possibility of drizzle at one or two places in Delhi on Monday. The wind speed stay in the range of 6-14km per hour, the forecast said.

Satellite data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) showed Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh recorded a combined fire count of 2602 fires on Saturday. With 2467 fire counts, Punjab’s contribution was the maximum on Saturday. The combined fire count stood at 4104 on Friday.

Smoke from stubble fires contributed to 17% of Delhi’s PM2.5 levels on Saturday, a reduction from 19% the previous day, according to data from the Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

The maximum temperature on Saturday settled at 28.3°C while the minimum temperature settled at 12.6°C, a degree below the normal for this time of the year. According to IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 28°C on Saturday while the minimum may touch 12°C. A partly cloudy sky with mist/shallow fog in the morning is expected in some places, the forecast said.