Quality of air in Capital is deteriorating as the level of primary pollutants has been found to be five times higher than its safe limit. On Tuesday, due to high dense fog and low wind speed, the values of contaminants in city air were recorded high in all National Air Quality Indices (NAQI).
The air quality monitors of US Embassy, situated at different locations in Delhi, showed status for the quality of air as “hazardous” as level of particulate matter PM (2.5) was at 411 µgm-3 while prescribed limit is 60 µgm-3 only.
While in Anand Vihar, Civil lines, Dwarka, Mandir Marg and R K Puram areas, the mass concentration of PM 2.5 was 668,515,406,420 and 365 µgm-3. According to ecologists, reasons for the high concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 are low wind speed and moisture in Delhi air.
“According to the metrological sensors, both vertical and horizontal wind speed is low in city due to thermal inversions. Areas with heavy pollution are prone to unhealthy air and an increase in smog when an inversion is present because they trap pollutants at ground level instead of circulating them away,” said Gopal Krishan , Ecologist, Anti Toxic Watch Alliance (ATWA).
Another monitoring station, SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), a unit of Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) also showed that value of pollutants in air is high. SAFAR forecasted that levels of PM 2.5 will remain high for next three days.