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Delhi's air quality remains poor: authorities

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Press Trust of India New Delhi

The air quality in Delhiremained poor Sundaywith drop in wind speed even as authorities predicted further fall in air quality indexof the national capital in the coming days.

The overall air quality index(AQI) recorded at 10 am Sunday stood at 208 which falls in the poor category, according to Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

On Saturday, the AQI of the national capital stood at 300.

According to the CPCB website, Anand Vihar recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 261, DTU registered AQI of 207, ITO recorded AQI of 204 while Jahangirpuri recorded an AQI of 300, just one point below the very poor level.

 

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

The PM10 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10 micrometres) in Delhistood at 183 and the PM2.5 level was recorded at 93, according to the data.

Authorities have predicted further deterioration of air quality in the coming days.

A slew of measures are being taken by the CPCB to fight pollution during the upcoming winter season, when the air quality in Delhiis generally the worst.

Meanwhile, recent satellite imagesfrom the NASA have showed that farmers in Punjaband Haryana have started burning crop residue earlier this month.

The NASA, on its official website, stated that burning crop residue in Punjaband Haryanahas increased significantly over the past 10 days in and near Amritsar, Ambala, Karnal, Sirsaand Hisar.

Burning of paddy straw every year during October and November and wheat straw during April in Punjaband Haryanaare the major contributors of air pollutionin Delhi-NCR, as the smoke travels towards the national capital.

In Delhi, it mixes with fog and creates a toxic smoggy winter every year.

An emergency action plan will be implemented from Mondayto combat air pollution that includes restrictions based on the air quality of the city, the CPCB said.

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First Published: Oct 14 2018 | 2:55 PM IST

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