NEW DELHI: The air quality in the city deteriorated further on Wednesday, and stayed in the lower end of the 'very poor' category. It is likely to worsen post-Diwali on November 5-6, with the smoke from the peaking crop stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana to overall pollution levels in Delhi rising to 35 - 40 per cent, said government agencies.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) on Wednesday was 314, as against 303 the previous day. An AQI reading between 30-400 mark is considered 'very poor', and 401 onwards is 'severe'. Every year, after Diwali, which falls in the first fortnight of November, the AQI plunges to 'severe', making the air unbreathable.
The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in its air quality forecast on Wednesday said that Thursday onwards, AQI will reach the upper end of the 'very poor' zone. "The share of stubble burning in PM 2.5 to overall pollution levels in Delhi was 8 per cent (total fire counts 3,271). The stubble burning induced impact in AQI is expected to increase from November 4," it said.
"As per SAFAR sensitivity simulation, stubble share on 4th is predicted to increase to 20 per cent and will touch a peak of 35-40 per cent on November 5-6. This is mainly due to transport level winds reaching Delhi from northwest where large stubble burning hotspots are expected," it added.
Between September 1-November 2, over 18,747 and 4,824 farm fires were spotted in Punjab and Haryana, as per the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). "As we are in peak stubble burning window, fires are likely to hit 3,000-4,000 counts per day. Since Diwali coincides with peak stubble burning window this year, the MoES forecast suggests that additional load from firecrackers could further deteriorate air quality," said LS Kurinji, Programme Associate, CEEW.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) too in its forecast on Wednesday said that the wind direction will change to northwesterly from November 5 with a speed of 4-8kmph, and PM 2.5 will be the lead pollutant in Delhi.
Diwali special timings: Last metro at 10 pm
NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro will stop its train services early on Thursday at 10.00 pm due to Diwali instead of the usual 11.00 pm. The last train service will start at 10.00 pm from terminal stations of all metro Lines except Green Line, which connects Inderlok/Kirti Nagar to Brigadier Singh Hoshiar.
The last train from Brigadier Hoshiar Singh towards Inderlok will end at 9:00pm, Brigadier Hoshiar Singh towards Kirtinagar will run till 9:10pm. Inderlok to Brigadier Singh Hoshiar, and Kirtinagar to Brigadier Hoshiar Singh, will operate till 9:30 pm.
Metro train services will run as usual for the rest of the day, said DMRC.