Haze engulfs Delhi, pollution shoots to severe

| | NEW DELHI
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Haze engulfs Delhi, pollution shoots to severe

Sunday, 21 October 2018 | Sapna Singh | NEW DELHI

Haze engulfs Delhi, pollution shoots to severe

Delhi on Saturday was engulfed in a thin haze as air quality deteriorated further with values of Suspended Particulate Matters (SPMs) approaching “severe” on the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) in some parts.

Incidentally, average values of SPMs in Dwarka and CRRU Mathura Road were 414 and 402 micro cubic per gram (µgm-3) respectively as recorded by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF &CC).

Notably, if the concentrations of pollutants in air crossed 400 (µgm-3), it falls under the category of “severe”, hence as per CPCB data, Delhi’s air quality can be termed “highly toxic”.

Further, the CPCB placed 31 places in Delhi under the category of “very poor” on pollution index.

Rajouri Garden, Anand Vihar, DTU, Mundka, Narela, Nehru Nagar and Rohini bore the brunt

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

The deterioration of air quality comes a day after fire crackers were burst on the occasion of Dusshera even after repeated appeals by authorities to go for eco-friendly celebrations. On Wednesday and Thursday, the air quality had deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category, alarming authorities who were planning to roll out more stringent measures to combat pollution.

The air quality temporarily improved on Friday afternoon after rainfall, but it worsened again in the evening. An official warned that the PM2.5 was reaching a dangerous level.

The Supreme Court appointed Environment Protection Control Authority (EPCA) had on Friday held a meeting with Government officials of Delhi and neighbouring States to discuss the pollution situation.

An EPCA member said after taking stock of the situation, it was decided that special attention would be given to vulnerable hotspots where ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ air quality is observed.

On Saturday, the PM2.5 (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) touched a new high at 158.

The PM2.5, also called “fine particulates”, can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10. The PM10 level (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) in Delhi stood at 270 and the PM 2.5 level was recorded at 125, according to the data from the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

A CPCB official said a number of factors were responsible for the deteriorating air quality, including vehicular pollution, construction activities and meteorological factors like the direction of wind which is now flowing from stubble burning areas.

Images by NASA showed rampant stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana in the last two weeks.

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