Diwali morning: Delhi's air quality inches closer to 'very poor' levels

October 24, 2022 08:44

Representational image

Delhi's air quality inched closer to the "very poor" category on Monday morning as unfavourable meteorological conditions allowed accumulation of pollutants while emissions from firecrackers and stubble burning compounded the situation.

On Sunday evening, the city reported a 24-hour average air quality index of 259, the lowest for the day before Diwali in seven years.

However, pollution levels crept up at night amid a drop in temperature and wind speed as people burst firecrackers in several parts of the capital.

The number of farm fires rose to 1,318, the highest this season so far. Delhi's AQI stood at 298 at 6 am on Monday.

Nineteen of the 35 monitoring stations in the city recorded air quality in the "very poor" category, while one (Anand Vihar) reported "severe" pollution levels.

The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (300), Noida (299), Greater Noida (282), Gurugram (249) and Faridabad (248) reported poor air quality.

SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union ministry of earth sciences, had earlier predicted that the air quality may deteriorate to "very poor" on Monday morning due to calm winds and low temperatures which allow rapid accumulation of pollutants in the air.

It will continue to remain "very poor" if no firecrackers are burst, it said. -- PTI

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