The national Capital has witnessed an unprecedented air pollution levels. Environmentalists said that the air quality will not be improving sooner as there is lack of wind movement this time to disperse of air pollutants and neither has there been a change in the climate. As the winter air is heavy, the pollutants have become stagnated, they stated.
Speaking to The Pioneer, environmentalist Usman Nasim said, “Wind movement is necessary to disperse air pollutants or else the pollution condition will get worse with time. There is no emergency measure to control pollution but to wait for a climatic change.”
Another environmentalist Manu Bhatnagar said that there are certain short term measures that could temporarily tackle the crisis. “We should place specific indoor plants in residential houses and offices for example aloe vera, which has a high absorbtion rate. We should curb stubble burning, which is nothing but burning something organic. We should rather resort to composting the stubble which can in turn be used for the next cycle of crops,” said Bhatnagar.
Environmentalist Vivek Chatopadhyay, who is also a senior researcher with NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said burning of crop residue in Punjab and Haryana was not the only source of the smog in Delhi but pollutants emitted from diesel cars and truck were also major contributors. “Such situation is usually witnessed a day after Diwali but now this is happening on a normal day. This indicates that the condition has become very serious. Now the air quality in Delhi is constantly under highest alarming level,” said Chatopadhyay.
He added that the present level of smog has proved that the current system of dealing with air pollution is a complete failure.
Private weather forecaster Skymet Director Mahesh Palawat said that entire Delhi-NCR was engulfed in a thick layer of smog due to calm winds which stopped the pollutants for dispersing. He said that the passing of ‘Western Disturbances’ over Himalayas made the conditions worst in north India including Delhi.
“Whenever Western Disturbance passes over Himalayas, it increases the level of humidity, which enhances the capacity of air to bear the pollutants for a long time. This results in thick layer of smog over the cities,” said Palawat.
“The situation is expected to remain same on Sunday and the day after. The smog will start dispersing after November 7 (Monday) as dry north-westerly winds with speed 10-15 km/hr are expected to sweep through the region,” he said. Palawat also held the burning of paddy stubble in Punjab and Haryana responsible for sad state of affair in Delhi.