Delhi is likely to witness severe air pollution level from Friday till New Year mainly due to non-supportive meteorological conditions, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR), a pollution watchdog under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
National Air Quality Index (NAQI) classified the air quality in the national Capital under “very poor” category on Thursday. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, the wind speed was measured below 1 km per hour on Thursday. This may go up to 4 km per hour but that is insufficient, said IMD sources. Speed and direction of
winds are important parameters for the dispersion of harmful suspended particulate matters (SPMs).
The infamous pollution red zone, Anand Vihar, saw SPMs above the permissible level on Thursday, while the ground-level wind speed was recorded below 5 km per hour, still short of the required level. PM 10 and PM 2.5 were recorded at 295 and 131 in microgram per cubic metre (µgm-3), while the upper safe limit is 100 and 60 units respectively. At Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, values of PM 10 and 2.5 were measured at 233 and 119 (µgm-3).
SAFAR has marked Delhi’s map with “Red”. In its advisory, SAFAR has advised people, particularly asthmatic patients, to avoid outdoor activities in the national Capital.