Air quality in Delhi 'severe' post Diwali

November 12, 2015 16:56

Air quality in Delhi plunged to a "severe" level following the Diwali celebration with pollutants rising a whopping 20 times in certain areas owing to incessant fireworks and bursting of firecrackers, notwithstanding appeals by authorities.

As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), an agency under Ministry of Earth Sciences, the air quality in the capital has turned "severe", a category used to describe the highest level of pollution.

Noise pollution was also on the higher side in most of the areas in the city.

Though the Delhi government claimed the pollution level on the Diwali night was less than last year, experts said it was too early to draw a conclusion.

Areas scattered across the megapolis saw alarming levels of pollution in the night with Anand Vihar, R K Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh breaching all safety standards not in terms of air but also noise.

At Anand Vihar, level of PM 10 breached the 2,000 microgram per cubic metre around midnight, which is 20 times more than the safe level of 100. R K Puram recorded the same as 1,333 at around 1 AM.

PM 2.5, finer and more harmful to those susceptible to ailments of the respiratory tract, was at 734 at R K Puram and 619 at Punjabi Bagh around the same time as opposed to the permissible limit of 60.

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