New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) Delhi’s air quality continued to be in the ‘very poor’ category for the second straight day, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 350 as a thick layer of smog engulfed the national
capital on Tuesday. The maximum temperature settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius, while 10 monitoring stations recorded severe pollution levels.
The city woke up to hazy skies and poor visibility, with a thick blanket of pollution smog shrouding several parts of the national capital. Morning walkers at India Gate said they could barely see the iconic monument through the haze, while visibility remained poor in several areas even during the day, as the thick smog continued to hang over the city.
This was the worst air quality recorded in 287 days. The last time Delhi recorded a higher AQI was on January 20, when the index stood at 378.
Of the 57 air quality monitoring stations in the city, 10 recorded ‘severe’ air quality, 35 were in the ‘very poor’ category, and 12 reported ‘poor’ air quality. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst air quality, with an AQI of 462, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 445, Rohini at 442, DTU at 438, Mundka at 429, Alipur at 428, Vivek Vihar at 424, Narela at 420, Bawana at 415, IIT Delhi at 411 and North Campus, Delhi University, at 401.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between zero and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius, 1.4 degrees below the season’s average. The minimum temperature was recorded at 16.4 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees above normal.
Among the other weather stations, Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius, 3.4 degrees below normal, while its minimum temperature settled at 16.2 degrees Celsius, near normal. Lodhi Road recorded a maximum of 29.1 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees below normal, and a minimum of 16.2 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degrees above normal.
The Ridge recorded a maximum temperature of 28.2 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees below normal, and a minimum of 17.7 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees above normal. Ayanagar recorded a maximum of 29 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees below normal, and a minimum of 17.2 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi forecast that the city’s air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category from November 4 to 6.
The outlook for the next six days suggests that air quality will likely remain in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category.
Delhi was brought under Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Monday after the AQI deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category, settling at 324 and marking the first such day of the season.
The Decision Support System (DSS) said stubble burning accounted for 15.3 per cent of Delhi’s pollution, while transport emissions contributed 15.8 per cent. Other local sources included energy production (1.2 per cent), industries in Delhi and the periphery (3 per cent), waste burning (1.4 per cent), construction activities (2.2 per cent), road dust (1.2 per cent), residential sources (3.9 per cent) and other sectors (1 per cent).
Among the neighbouring NCR districts, Jhajjar contributed 8.8 per cent, Gurugram 4.1 per cent, Sonipat 2.6 per cent, Rohtak 2.5 per cent and Mewat 2 per cent.
Satellites detected 219 farm fire incidents across six states on November 2, including 98 in Punjab, 67 in Rajasthan, 48 in Madhya Pradesh, four in Uttar Pradesh and two in Haryana. No residue-burning events were detected in Delhi or Uttarakhand, according to data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) Lab, Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
As many as 3,535 farm fire incidents were detected across the six states between September 15 and November 2. Punjab accounted for the highest number of incidents at 1,612, followed by Rajasthan (738), Madhya Pradesh (614), Uttar Pradesh (349), Uttarakhand (176), Haryana (44) and Delhi (two).
The stubble-burning period runs from September 15 to November 30. Delhi recorded its first stubble-burning incident of the season on September 19 and the second on October 24.
The weather department has forecast a mainly clear sky for Wednesday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to settle at 28 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees Celsius, respectively. PTI SGV AMJ
AMJ
