Delhi's air quality remains in 'poor' category, expected to deteriorate further on Diwali
The Ministry of Earth Sciences' Air Quality, Early Warning System for Delhi predicted that PM2.5 and PM10 levels in the city might reach 250 and 398 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively, on Diwali night.
FollowThe national capital's air quality remained poor for the sixth day in a row, with stubble burning accounting for 7% of the capital's PM2.5 pollution. According to SAFAR, the air quality is expected to improve somewhat over the following two days due to breezes from the west and south-west. On Diwali night, PM2.5 and PM10 levels in the city are expected to exceed 250 and 398 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively. The permitted limits for PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations are 60 micrograms per cubic metre and 100 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
According to figures from the Central Pollution Control Board, the average air quality index in the capital was 281. It was 289 on Sunday, and 268 on Saturday. According to the CPCB, agencies in the Delhi-NCR region had addressed just 11% of air pollution-related complaints since October 15, when the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) went into effect to address the region's poor air quality. Between October 15 and October 30, just 47 of 424 complaints were handled by authorities in Delhi and the NCR cities of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
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Most complaints are about building and demolition operations, unpaved roads, road dust, open rubbish and industrial waste disposal, and traffic congestion. GRAP is a set of pollution-control techniques applied in Delhi and surrounding areas dependent on the severity of the problem. It enters into effect in mid-October, when the region's air pollution levels rise due to bad weather and stubble burning.
According to SAFAR, the air quality is expected to deteriorate dramatically on November 5 and 6, reaching the upper end of the terrible category. PM2.5 is the most prevalent pollutant. It went on to say that 3,971 agricultural fires were detected in the northwest region of Delhi on Sunday, the most this season, and that the percentage of crop residue burning emissions in PM2.5 is low due to unfavourable transport winds.
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