Northwest India battles ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality

The wind speed is likely to improve marginally on Friday; this could lead to a slight improvement in air quality, but Delhi’s AQI reading would remain in the “very poor” category

Many parts of northwest India recorded “severe” and “very poor” air quality on Friday morning.

The air quality of Bhiwadi, Fatehabad, Delhi, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Hisar, Jind and Ghaziabad was either in “severe” or “very poor” category as stubble fires peaked and meteorological conditions became adverse. (AFP)

The air quality of Bhiwadi, Fatehabad, Delhi, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Hisar, Jind and Ghaziabad was either in “severe” or “very poor” category as stubble fires peaked and meteorological conditions became adverse. On Thursday, the contribution from stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana to Delhi’s PM 2.5 load was 36%, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) under Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

An air quality index (AQI) reading between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor” while an AQI reading between 401 and 500 is categorised as “severe”. Severe air quality can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing health conditions.

The wind direction is north-westerly, wind speed over Delhi is under 4 kmph and farm fires are at their peak now. The combination of these factors has led to the deterioration of air quality in most parts of northwest India. A very large number of farm fires—at least 3,000 in Punjab—was recorded on October 28, according to the air quality early warning system under the ministry of earthy sciences (MoES). The wind speed is likely to improve marginally on Friday. This could lead to a slight improvement in air quality, but Delhi’s AQI reading would remain in the “very poor” category according to MoES.

The minimum temperature is likely to fall further across northwest India by 2-3 degrees Celsius in the next 3 or 4 days according to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi. The lowest minimum temperature recorded over the northwestern plains in the past 24 hours was 10.3 degrees Celsius at Adampur IAF (Punjab). Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 12.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the lowest temperature recorded in October in 26 years.