Delhi's air may hit emergency level by today

November 13, 2019 07:56

A thick haze returned to Delhi on Tuesday amid stubble burning in neighbouring states, with official forecasters saying the air quality could hit emergency levels during the next two days because of low surface wind and cloud cover, sparking concerns by parents over schoolchildren being exposed to poisonous pollutants outdoors.

The Central Pollution Control Boards 4 pm bulletin on the Air Quality Index on Tuesday showed the pollution was severe at 425, a sharp rise from 360 the previous day. By 11 pm, the AQI had dipped to 449.

The 24-hour average concentration of PM2.5 ultra-fine particles reported by the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management-Delhi NCRs dashboard breached the 300g/m3 level regarded as the threshold beyond which the pollution is considered to be in the emergency zone.

The governments air quality monitoring system, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, said winds blowing from the northwest carried plumes of smoke from burning stubble in Punjab and Haryana to New Delhi, causing the pollution to rise. The transport level wind direction is forecasted to be highly favourable for plume intrusion for the next two days, it said.

No sudden recovery is expected under this condition at least for the next two days and AQI is likely to deteriorate further towards SEVERE+ category by tomorrow (Wednesday). The condition may slightly improve by 15th November, it added.

The agency said that while the farm fire count had gone down, the wind pattern was bringing in airborne particles that are harmful to human health.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government said it restricted outdoor activities in schools, but there were no immediate plans of shutting down schools. The extension of road rationing measures, popularly called the odd-even scheme, will be reviewed on Wednesday after assessing the pollution over the next 24 hours, Delhis environment minister Kailash Gahlot said. The scheme was suspended on Monday and Tuesday for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

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