Air quality in Delhi dives to 'severe' category again

The AQI showed slight improvement only on two days with 'very poor' readings barring which the air quality has remained severe.

Fumes from crop stubble burning add up to the concentration of pollutants. (Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: A thick layer of haze covered the national capital throughout the day on Thursday as the air quality again plunged to ‘severe’. The accumulation of pollutants is high, with little or almost no dispersion owing to calm local winds. 

Daily emissions from the city as well as from outside such as fumes from crop stubble burning in neighbouring states and NCR towns add up to the existing concentration of pollutants pushing the air quality to severe levels intermittently, government agencies and weather experts said.

The consistent deterioration in air quality also made Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai to again write to his counterpart in the Union government, Bhupender Yadav, urging him to call an “emergency” meeting of the states to curb stubble fires.

“The air quality in Delhi is severe. There is an accumulation of pollutants in the air-shed. The situation has got worse with stubble burning instances recorded since last week. Satellite images show that total active fire count was 5,395 on November 9. Trans-boundary movement of stubble burning pollutants is high since November first week. Government intervention is required urgently,” the letter stated. Rai had on November 7 also written to Yadav calling for his intervention to address the issue.  

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) on Thursday was 411, against 372 the previous day. The city has been reeling under ‘severe’ air quality since November 5 when post-Diwali fireworks and peak stubble burning activity pushed the pollution levels in the higher end of the ‘severe’ zone, posing a serious health risk to those with respiratory problems as well as the general population at large. 

Since then, the AQI showed slight improvement only on two days with ‘very poor’ readings barring which the air quality has remained severe.  Also, the central government’s air quality forecasting wing said that air quality is going to remain ‘severe’ over the next two days.