 "Delhi tops most polluted megacity list, says WHO")
A day after nightlong Diwali celebrations, a thick layer of smog surrounded Delhi on Monday morning. The previous evening, while people enjoyed Diwali festivities and burnt firecrackers, air quality in the national capital turned very poor, and the pollution level at several areas crossed the danger mark, causing breathing issues to many.
According to the data available on Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s website, the real-time air quality of Delhi deteriorated severely in the past 24 hours. At 8:20 am on Monday, the PM10 recording at RK Puram was 862 µg/m3, against a prescribed standard of 100 µg/m3. Similarly, the PM2.5 concentration was recorded at 434 µg/m3, compared with a standard permissible level of 60 µg/m3.
At IGI Airport, PM10 was recorded at 523.45 µg/m3, while the data for PM2.5 was not available. At Punjabi Bagh, PM10 increased 8 times, shooting to 842 µg/m3, while PM 2.5 increased 6 times to around 360 µg/m3.
People complained about near-zero visibility on the roads, as a layer of smog enveloped the city and commuters found it difficult to drive. The bursting of firecrackers pushed the toxic content in the air to an alarming level.
The Centre’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) had earlier said pollution during this year’s Diwali was expected to be worse than 2014 and 2015 due to a combination of adverse meteorological factors like slow wind speed and moisture in the air, a major hindrance in the dispersion of suspended pollutants.
Here is chart comparing the air quality of Anand Vihar, RK Puram and IGI Airport for the years 2014, 2015, 2016.
