Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 377on Thursday, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, on the occasion of Chhath puja while multiple locations reported "severe" air quality. A layer of smog was seen blanketing many areas in the city. Mist or smog is expected to cover the city at night, according to an India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast. PM2.5 concentration is currently 57.3 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value.
According to Delhi pollution Control Committee (DPCC), at least 16 weather stations recorded an AQI above 400 with seven more stations seeing the air quality deteriorate to a "severe" level by evening. These include Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Mundka, Jahangirpuri, Wazirpur, Okhla Phase 2, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Sonia Vihar, and Patparganj, among others.There is no possibility to get relief from air pollution as AQI is likely to be in ‘Very Poor’ category from November 08 to 10.
Real time data shared by US based IQ Air showed Delhi and it's neighbouring cities - Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Meerut, Noida are among the top five most polluted cities in the world. According to IQ Air, Delhi, Vivek Vihar, Pooth Kalan, Narela, Sonia Vihar, Rohini, Mundka and Punjabi Bagh were among the top most polluted areas in Delhi.
At present, the major contributors to PM2.5 pollution are local and regional sources. The transport sector is the most significant contributor at 11.178 percent, as per the Decision Support System data by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). While the residential sector contribution is 2. 872 percent, industries contributed 2.496 percent, construction 1. 499 percent, energy sector 1. 276 percent, waste burning 1.148 percent, and road dust 0.83 percent.
According to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, mainly smog condition with predominant surface wind from variable directions with wind speed reaching 04–06 kmph prevailed during daytime and calm winds during night. Predicted maximum mixing depth is likely to be 1900 m on November 7. The ventilation index lower than 6000 m2/s with average wind speed less than 10 kmph is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants. Meteorological conditions are likely to be extremely unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants.
Meanwhile, toxic foam was seen floating on the Yamuna River in Kalindi Kunj, as pollution levels in the river remained high.The air condition in Delhi continue to deteriorate, making situation worse for the residents.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) calculated the day’s AQI based on data from 40 out of 40 local air quality monitoring stations, where PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less) was the dominant pollutant in the air.
AQI was stood at 367 as of 9 am on Thursday. Anand Vihar and Ashok Vihar were some of the neighborhoods in Delhi that recorded an AQI exceeding 400, as other regions hovered around this level. At around 9.00 AM on Monday, Burari recorded at 378, Chandni Chowk at 304, ITO at 357, Lodhi Road 321 and IGI(T3) at 356.
