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New Delhi: The Air Quality Index was 377 on Thursday, making this the ninth consecutive day that Delhi breathed in ‘very poor’ air.
Twelve stations saw AQI in the ‘severe’ range throughout the day.
Calm conditions, which meant no aid of the winds, continued the accumulation of pollutants.
Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) data shows that Delhi’s AQI was hovering above 350 for the fifth straight day. With no significant change expected in meteorological conditions, respite from toxic air is unlikely over the next few days.
Wazirpur was the most polluted with an AQI of 445, followed by Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri at 438 each at 6pm.
“Mainly smog conditions with predominant surface wind from variable directions with wind speed reaching 4–8 kmph prevailed during the daytime and calm winds during the night,” India Meteorological Department said in its bulletin on Thursday evening.
Winds below 4 kmph are mostly calm as they are unable to disperse pollutants, while winds of 4-8 kmph are considered light. “Though the winds were variable, upper-level winds were mostly north-westerly, meaning smoke was transported from stubble burning sites to Delhi. However, wind speed dropped to zero during the nighttime and it hampered the process of dispersion of pollutants,” said an official.
The official added that no improvement in air quality is expected for the next few days as similar weather conditions are likely to prevail. No western disturbance is expected to impact the region in the next few days, either.
The ‘very poor’ category air forecast came from the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi too.
The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 was around 23% on Wednesday as against 20.3% a day earlier, according to the Decision Support System, which estimates the contribution of farm fires to pollution.
IMD said shallow fog was reported at Safdarjung as visibility dropped to 800 metres from 7am to 9am. It later improved to 1,500 metres. The lowest visibility at Palam was 1000 metres from 7.30am to 9am.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 31.7 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal. The minimum stood at 18, four degrees above normal.
Pitampura was the warmest station as the minimum temperature rose to 21.4 degrees Celsius there, which was seven degrees above normal.
IMD has predicted that smog or shallow fog in the next four days during the night or early morning.
Meanwhile, in NCR, Gurgaon’s air deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category due to low wind speed on Thursday and the AQI stood at 302, up from Wednesday’s 293. The Sector 51 station recorded the highest AQI at 368.
Ghaziabad’s Loni area experienced air quality in the severe category for the first time this season on Thursday evening, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. The air quality index in Loni reached 406, placing it in the severe category, followed by Vasundhara recording 344 (very poor), Sanjay Nagar at 289 (poor), and Indirapuram at 254 (poor). The spike in air pollution in Loni is attributed to industrial activity, vehicular emissions, and construction.
