NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality moved from the ‘severe’ to the ‘very poor’ category on Wednesday with a little help from the improved weather conditions. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, 21 areas recorded severe pollution, while 13 areas saw ‘very poor’ air quality. The overall PM 2.5 level —- fine particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometer — was recorded at 249 and the PM10 level at 378, the CPCB said.
Delhi recorded its second-highest pollution level of the year on Sunday with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 450. The air quality remained ‘severe’ on Monday and Tuesday before moving to the ‘very poor’ category on Wednesday morning. According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), air quality is likely to improve as the meteorological conditions like wind speed and ventilation index are marginally favourable for dispersion of pollutants.
Ventilation index is the speed at which pollutants can get dispersed. A ventilation index lower than 6000 sqm/second, with average wind speed less than 10 kmph, is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants. The index was 5500 sqm/second on Wednesday, the IITM said.
In view of prevalence of severe pollution in the national capital, industrial activities in pollution hotspots of Wazirpur, Mundka, Narela, Bawana, Sahibabad and Faridabad, and construction work across Delhi-NCR was ordered to remain shut till Wednesday.In a letter to Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal directed him to ban all construction activities in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida till Wednesday.
FAR from comfort for city people
The CPCB data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at the ‘very poor’ level of 378, while the SAFAR showed an AQI of 364, which too falls in the ‘very poor’ category
According to CPCB data, eight areas recorded severe pollution, while 26 areas witnessed ‘very poor’ air quality
Across 35 areas in Delhi, the average concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 was 230 and 353 microgrammes per cubic meters on Wednesday at 6 pm
Moderate to dense fog conditions will prevail for the next two days over Delhi and surrounding regions and may not allow significant improvement
No respite from cold either for the people as the mercury dipped to 3.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season’s average — the lowest so far this season