Air quality shows no signs of improvement in Delhi-NCR, AQI at 331

Delhi's Air Quality Index was recorded the worst in the season so far

Air quality shows no signs of improvement in Delhi-NCR, AQI at 331

Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category on Friday after showing signs of improvement as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded the worst in the season so far at 345, by the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

PM2.5 (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) was recorded at 178. PM10 level (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) in Delhi stood at 343, according to the data from SAFAR.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded the city's overall AQI at 331 on Thursday evening.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

The permissible range or PM2.5 is 60 as per national standards and 25 by international standards.

The PM2.5, also called fine particulates, can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10.

Place	PM2.5	PM10
R K Puram	280	218
Dwarka	315	N/A
Anand Vihar	372	587
Gurgaon	208	N/A
Noida	280	612

 

A Delhi Fire Service official said on Thursday evening firefighting was still underway at some portions of the Bhalswa landfill site.

"Due to continuous discharge of methane gas from the landfill, fire erupts randomly," he said.

A fire has been raging at the massive dump site since October 20.

The air quality in the capital had slightly improved but dipped to "very poor" again on Wednesday and Thursday.

As the air quality showed no signs of improvement, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to act against the burning of leaves and garbage.

Meanwhile, the SDMC said it was going to intensify work on stopping incidents of waste and leaves burning by conducting night patrolling in all four zones in its jurisdiction and fine violators on the spot under the Nation Green Tribunal rules.

Delhi's environment minister held a multi-stakeholder review meet on Tuesday and directed all officers and agencies to be in "war mode" to combat air pollution.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday set up a deadline for bursting firecrackers from 8 PM to 10 PM on Diwali and other festivals, in view of the air pollution crisis.

The court, however, permitted the sale and manufacture of low emission "green" firecrackers countrywide.

The slump in air quality is largely attributed to stubble-burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana and meteorological reasons such as low winds.