NEW DELHI: The Air Quality Index is likely to be in the ‘severe’ category for over next 10 days in Northern and Eastern India, owing to low wind speed. The current average windspeed and that predicted for the next 10 days for the region is likely to be less than 10 kmph, which is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants.
Moreover, the first week of November witnessed a sudden 68 per cent spike in pollution level compared to the past five years, owing to a cocktail of local open source combustions, adverse meteorological conditions, and onset of crop residue burning.
One of the densely populated regions of the planet, people of Indo-Gangetic plains are deprived of clean air — a fundamental to health. A recent survey showed that over 75 per cent of the households in Delhi-NCR are experiencing health complications like sore throat, cough and burning eyes due to poor air quality.
As per satellite imagery, thick smog has been enveloped over Indo-Gangetic plains covering Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, owing to low wind speed. A Swiss technology company on Sunday listed India’s three metro cities – Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai – in the top 10 poor air quality index of cities. On Sunday, the average AQI in Delhi is in severe category as fine particulate matter (PM) of 2.5 micrometres or PM 2.5 concentration in Delhi reached to 456 – almost around 20 times more than prescribed WHO standard on PM 2.5 and 10 times as per India’s standard.