Foggy, polluted Christmas likely in Delhi; 2nd bout of cold wave expected

The Air Quality Index (AQI) value of Delhi stood at 450 on Sunday and it was almost the same, at 448, on Monday. On a scale of 0 – 500, an AQI value above 400 is considered to be severe.

Today may well be the most polluted Christmas day in Delhi since the government introduced the National Air Quality Index in 2015.

People covered in warm clothes to protect themselves from cold weather at Lodhi Garden in New Delhi on Monday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The city encountered its most polluted Christmas-eve in the last four years on Monday with the count of particulate matter, the primary pollutant in the national capital, staying in the emergency category for the second consecutive day. Government agencies have warned that chances of an improvement in air quality on Christmas day are dim.

On the recommendations of a multi-agency task force headed by the Central Pollution Control Board, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has banned construction activities in Delhi and four National Capital Region (NCR) towns of Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad till Wednesday. Factories have been also closed in at least six industrial areas in Delhi and NCR.

“This is just a temporary phase. It is not that emission levels have suddenly gone up, but because the dispersal of pollutants is not happening. It is largely because of meteorological conditions. I have personally had rounds of discussions with the chief secretary of Delhi. We have insisted that local actions to curb pollution levels should be on full swing. A mechanism to take local actions has been put in place,” said CK Mishra, union environment secretary.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) value of Delhi stood at 450 on Sunday and it was almost the same, at 448, on Monday. On a scale of 0 – 500, an AQI value above 400 is considered to be severe. The concentration of particulate matter in the National Capital Region remained above emergency levels for the second consecutive day.

While Delhi has already witnessed a cold wave last week with the mercury dropping to 3.7 degrees Celsius, meteorologists have warned that a second cold wave could hit the city this week.

CPCB data revealed that Sunday was the second most polluted December day in the past four years. The highest AQI in December was recorded on December 21, 2017, at 469.

Such high levels of pollution were last encountered during the post Diwali period in November, when the AQI shot up to 486. Levels of particulate matter breached the emergency mark because of bursting of crackers, stubble burning in north west India and unfavourable meteorological conditions.

“Low wind speed, high relative humidity, dip in temperature and formation of dew are helping pollution become stagnant. We are expecting the air quality to improve from December 26 when the wind speed could pick up,” said SP Singh Parihar, chairman, CPCB.

While the minimum temperature on Monday stood at 4.6 degrees Celsius, which was three degrees below normal, the maximum relative humidity has shot up to 97%. The wind speed has dropped below 5 km/hour.

“We are expecting another cold wave from December 26. The temperature is expected to drop to around 3 degrees Celsius by Friday,” said a senior official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).