Despite negligible stubble burning, there seems to be no respite from the pollution in the national capital as the air quality index inched closer to the “severe” category on Tuesday afternoon.
The city’s air quality index stood at 392 micrograms per cubic meter, which is in the “very poor” category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 18 out of 36 pollution monitoring stations in Delhi showed severe air quality index reading.
Jahangirpuri has the most noxious air at 439. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has advised sensitive groups to avoid all physical activity outdoor and move activities indoors. If asthmatic, then keep relief medicine handy, it emphasized.
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), a central government agency, said that dominating factors influencing air quality is making a swift transformation from biomass to intense winter cooled stagnation conditions, lowering of boundary layer height, and fog formation.
“Surface winds are likely to be picking up slightly and the AQI is forecast to be in the very poor category for the next two days. AQI is likely to improve and stay in the middle-end of the very poor category on 11th December,” the forecasting agency stated.
The contribution of stubble burning to the pollution crisis is also negligible at one percent, according to the SAFAR. At 42 percent, stubble burning’s share in pollution had soared to season’s high on November 5. It, however, started plummeting from November 23 onwards.
Delhi’s neighboring regions — Faridabad, Noida, and Greater Noida are logging very poor quality of air. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida’s air quality remained the worst, with the very poor air quality of 439 and 414 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively.
