NEW DELHI: A day after India celebrated Diwali, citizens across the country, particularly in the national capital, struggled to breathe clean air with pollution levels soaring to alarming levels. In New Delhi, the ban imposed by the Supreme Court on sales of firecrackers, and in state capitals restrictions clamped on cracker bursting hours did little to limit the damage to the air.
According to figures released by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), air quality in four closely monitored cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad — was no better than ‘very poor’ on Friday.
In the national capital, PM 2.5 and and PM 10 readings, which are measures of pollutants that can reach the blood stream, were 407 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) and 595 ug/m3 respectively, indicating ‘severe’ implications for citizens, particularly those with existing breathing disorders.
Both these readings were way above the safe levels of 60 ug/m3 for PM 2.5 and 100 ug/m3 for PM 10. In fact, the US embassy’s pollution monitor scored an alarming 878, way beyond its maximum calibration of 500.
The line graphs of pollution data recorded by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) monitoring stations were telling. In station after station, the volume of PM2.5 and PM10 built up rapidly around 7 pm and peaked post midnight, soaring up to 10 times above the safe 24-hour limits. The RK Puram monitoring station recorded PM2.5 and PM10 at 878 ug/m3 and 1,179 ug/m3 at around 11 pm. The air quality monitors stopped working after midnight, suggesting that the pollutants had gone through the roof.
Data from 16 ambient air quality monitors analysed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the ban on firecracker sales had done little to curb pollution in the city the only solace being that it was worse last year.
Last year at the same time, PM10 levels on an average ranged from 448 ug/m3 to 939 ug/m3 and PM 2.5 levels ranged from 180 ug/m3 to 440 ug/m3. If one goes by SAFAR’s forecast, Delhi’s air is likely to improve in the next three days mainly because a host of favourable meteorological conditions were helping to prevent the entry of smoke-filled air from the agricultural belt of Haryana and Punjab.
PM 2.5 pollution levels in Ahmedabad were way lower at 172 ug/m3 but ‘very poor’ all the same.
In Mumbai, the PM2.5 levels were ‘very poor’ at 172ug/m3 while PM 10 levels were ‘moderate’ at 235 ug/m.
In Pune, the air quality was rated ‘very poor’ with the PM 2.5 reading at 138ug/m3. In Punjab, Diwali morrow turned out to be better than last year, according to data released by Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). This year, there was a 24 per cent surge in pollution levels on Diwali day compared to the day before but that was only 70 per cent of what was recorded last year.
Shallow smog dips visibility in Delhi, post Diwali
Mist and shallow fog hung low in the air in parts of national capital, a day after Diwali, as visibility dropped significantly in the morning while the mercury settled at 20.5 degree Celsius According to the MeT Department, the visibility reported at 8:30 am was 500 m and it improved as the day progressed “Mist and shallow fog were seen at many places in the morning. The smoke from the Diwali festivities last night, added to the fall in visibility level,” he said. In Lutyens’ Delhi, the Raisina Hill complex, which includes the iconic North Block and South Block buildings and Rashtrapati Bhavan, were wrapped in a misty cover even till 10:30 am. As the sun shone bright, the visibility improved to 1500 m at 11:30 pm.
