The western disturbance occurring throughout northwest India has left the atmosphere cloudy and an isolated drizzle is expected in Delhi on Saturday. This, according to experts, would only worsen the condition as lesser rainfall will not wash out the pollutants but would increase humidity. The air quality is expected to get better from Sunday.
Some parts of Delhi like Lodhi Road and IIT recorded emergency levels of PM 2.5 the whole day at 574 and 625, respectively.
NEW DELHI: Air quality in Delhi deteriorated to emergency category once again with the levels of ultrafine pollutants PM 10 and PM 2.5 rising to 865 and 796 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively, in the early hours of Friday.
The western disturbance occurring throughout northwest India has left the atmosphere cloudy and an isolated drizzle is expected in Delhi on Saturday. This, according to experts, would only worsen the condition as lesser rainfall will not wash out the pollutants but would increase humidity.
However, the air quality is expected to get better from Sunday, as per an assessment report by System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) because the wind speed is expected to pick up from Saturday.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to conduct random checks on three-wheelers running on polluting fuels and to file a report about it. The top court has also asked the Centre prepare a roadmap for installation of air purifying towers across Delhi region, an agency report said.
A research conducted by Safar for 2018 calendar had revealed that 41% of Delhi’s pollution came from transport sector, 18.6% from industries, and 4.9% from power generation. Air pollution from residential category, which includes crop residue, was just 3%, while wind-blown dust accounted for 21.5% of pollution.
The report said pollution from crop residue and household decreased 64% year on year in the last calendar, while transport and Industry pollution increased by 40% and 48%, respectively.
Some parts of Delhi like Lodhi Road and IIT recorded emergency levels of PM 2.5 the whole day at 574 and 625, respectively.
Air quality index (AQI) level of 50 is considered healthy, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous, as per US AQI standards.
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