Delhi’s air is increasingly becoming unbearable with high-level of Particulate Matters being found in the air, being termed “very unhealthy” for elderly and children.
The real time ambient air data collected by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Monday paints a gloomy picture with the city being covered with a blanket of smog due to host of factors, including lack of wind movement and burning of paddy in the field of neighboring States Punjab and Haryana.
“The air quality will remain poor for the coming few days till there is adequate wind movement or rainfall. Paddy burning has only contributed to the haze which affects children and elderly suffering from asthma the most,” said a senior official at Indian Metrological Department (IMD).
Cloudy skies will ensure that the situation sees little no improvement in the course of the next few days, the official added. Going by the level of pollutants, the situation is inching towards the “very poor” category with the onset of winter.
On the website of World Air Quality Index by aquicn.org, Anand Vihar area’s PM 2.5 was recorded 233 which falls under the very healthy category and gives the signal of health warnings of emergency conditions. And PM 10 recorded 364 which was 3.6 times higher than the safe limits as per the DPCC.
“The contribution factors in abnormal high of PM 2.5 and PM 10 are the burning of leaves in the surrounding area of Delhi and the dust of construction sites,” said Ashwani Kumar, Member Secretary, Environment and Forest. “A team of professors and students of IIT Kanpur are doing special study on the size of Particulate Matters in Delhi Environment with having the study on PM in November end , we can work on the reasonable factors contributing for PM in environment,” said Kumar.
The other places which recorded alarming levels of pollutants in air include Pusa Road, Mathura Road, Pitampura and RK Puram, areas situated across the city, showing that pollution is not limited to any particular zone.
In northwest Delhi’s Pitampura PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels were recorded at 281 and 269 respectively in the afternoon, according to SAFAR’s (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) air quality status.
While PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter than can penetrate deep into the lungs) was recorded at around 170, 2.5 times higher than the permissible limit of 60, the average of PM 10 was 280, 2.8 times higher than the prescribed limit of 100.
Delhi, which has remained shrouded in a blanket of smog since the night of October 30 due to a host of factors, including lack of wind movement and moisture, has been dealt the final blow in the form of burning of paddy in the fields of neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.
On Monday, PM 2.5 was recorded 170 which is 2.5 times higher than the permissible limit of 60 and the average of PM 10 was 280, 2.8 times higher than the prescribed limit of 100.