Now that there is no visible smog in the city, did you think pollution’s onslaught on our bodies is over? You were wrong if you did. Even as a few areas in Delhi-NCR have fallen out of the "severe-plus or emergency" category to "severe", the ambient air quality of the national capital remained "very poor" on Tuesday, 28 November, the 52nd day since the region has been bereft of clean air. As of Wednesday, 29 November, pollution was at a ten time high in the national capital.
The rising pollution levels in Delhi dragged the air quality down on Wednesday, with authorities forecasting that the situation will persist for at least a day.
The concentration of suspended particulates PM 2.5 and PM 10 were recorded nearly three times above the prescribed standards even as air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the sixth straight day.
After rising through the day, PM 2.5 settled at 160 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) and PM 10 at 277 ug/m3 around 7 pm. The corresponding 24-hour safe averages are 60 and 100.
According to the monitoring agencies and latest forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the air quality is expected to remain "very poor" for at least till Sunday 3 December.
On Tuesday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was "severe-plus" at Anand Vihar, while it recorded "severe" in parts of Ghaziabad, Noida and Delhi Technical University (DTU) in north Delhi.
At RK Puram in south west Delhi, PM2.5 at peak was 279 units at 6 p.m.
According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), PM2.5 concentration was above 300 units at Dhirpur, Pitampura and Delhi University in north Delhi, Mathura Road and Ayanagar in south Delhi, IGI Airport, Noida and Gurugram.
The AQI takes into account levels of suspended particulate matter and gases such as nitrogen dioxide and ground-level Ozone.
A "very poor" AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illness on prolonged exposure to such air. On further dip in air quality, the AQI will turn "severe".
Stubble Burning Continues to Be a Bother
Meanwhile, as the stubble burning continues unabated in neighbouring states and the capital itself, as shown by satellite images, the National Capital Region saw the 52nd day of persistent toxins on Wednesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) records, Delhi-NCR last saw "moderate" Air Quality Index (AQI) on 7 October 2017, and had been reeling under "poor" to "severe" category.
The records further showed that since 17 October Delhi has been consistently breathing "very poor" air, while for seven days from 7 to 13 November it was either "severe" or "severe-plus".
(With inputs from the wires.)
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