The second phase of the odd-even scheme in Delhi kicked off on Friday to control the pollution level in the national capital. Though the road rationing scheme will face its biggest test on Monday, the results from Saturday have not been encouraging, to say the least.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the air pollution level in parts of Delhi was higher as compared to pre odd-even days and in some parts, the spike was 3 times the regular pollution level.
The concentration of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 was 168 microgram per cubic meter in East Delhi area as compared to 55 micrograms per cubic meter from 12 April. Similar data readings were collected from RK Puram and Punjabi Bagh area.
WHO safety limit for PM 2.5 content is 25 microgram per cubic meter while India’s safety limit is 61 microgram per cubic meter. PM 2.5 have a diameter of 2.5 microns. They can penetrate the lungs and are responsible for respiratory and cardiac problems.
Low Wind Speed Resulted in High Pollution Level: TERI
Sumit Sharma who leads the monitoring team at The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has attributed the rise in pollution level to low wind speeds.
Last week, the air pollution dipped due to high wind speed. This week, however, the wind speed was low and hence there was a rise in pollution.Sumit Sharma, Air Pollution Monitoring Team, TERI
TERI collects data from four of the six Delhi Pollution Control Committee monitoring stations and five other monitoring stations.
The Delhi government took the step of road rationing via odd-even scheme for the first time in January 2016 after the pollution levels reached alarming levels in the national capital.
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