An ash cloud from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi volcano, which erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years on Sunday morning, moved towards India and swept across the country's northwestern parts on Monday night, disrupting flight operations in several major cities.
The plume of ash reached Delhi around 11 pm on Monday and drifted over Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. According to the latest update from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it will move towards China next, and is expected to leave India by 14:00 GMT (7:30 pm local time) on Tuesday. Follow live updates on Ethiopia volcanic eruption
While the ash cloud has impacted visibility and air traffic, it has not affected the air quality levels in Delhi.
Why has the ash cloud not impacted Delhi's AQI?
M Mohapatra, IMD's director general, told HT earlier that the ash plume is in the "upper-levels, so we will not see significant impact near the surface".
"It will appear as a hazy, cloudy sky with its impact expected for a few hours, as it continues to move further eastwards," Mohapatra was quoted as saying in an earlier report.
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{{/usCountry}}"It will appear as a hazy, cloudy sky with its impact expected for a few hours, as it continues to move further eastwards," Mohapatra was quoted as saying in an earlier report.
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{{/usCountry}}The IMD top official had said that the impact on cities will mainly be a marginal rise in temperature. "Similar to clouds, the minimum will rise. It is unclear whether it will impact air quality, but any significant impact is unlikely as it is at higher levels,” Mohapatra added.
In his latest remark to news agency ANI, Mohapatra said that since the volcanic ash is being observed only in the upper troposphere, it is affecting flight operations. "It has no impact on air quality and weather. Our estimate is that this volcanic ash will completely move towards China by evening," he added.
Meanwhile, environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said that the ash cloud will not "immediately impact" Delhi's AQI.
He told ANI that the overall impact of the eruption of the long-dormant Ethiopian volcano will be in the form of ash clouds and will not immediately affect the AQI in Delhi.
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"The clouds are made of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and glass particles. Though it will not immediately affect the AQI, we need to monitor it, as the clouds are in the very upper atmosphere," Jha added.
Jha further noted that over half of the air quality monitoring stations in Delhi are showing an AQI level of 400 plus, which falls under the 'severe' category, adding that in some areas, the air quality is even reaching 450 plus, in the "hazardous" category.
Delhi AQI on Tuesday
As the ash cloud from the Ethiopian volcanic eruption came over Delhi on Monday night, the air quality remained close to the 'severe' category. At 8 am, Delhi's overall AQI stood at 362, under the 'very poor' category.
The capital's AQI, as of 2 pm, stood at 356, again in the 'very poor' category, according to data from Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app.