Delhi air quality remains poor for third straight day

NEW DELHI: Air quality in the capital continued to deteriorate for the third straight day and remained in the “poor” category recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 279 on Wednesday. CPCB said this was the highest AQI this week. Experts said that the current conditions are largely owing to the weather and not due to crop burning as wind is currently blowing in the opposing direction.

“There is a lot of humidity in the air, which is increasing the density of pollutants aided by calm weather conditions. The crop burning effect is yet to hit the capital completely as the wind is blowing in the opposing direction. The quality may plunge further once that air hits the capital,” said Dipankar Saha, head of CPCB’s air quality laboratory.

Delhi saw two days of moderate air quality, starting from October 6 when the FIFA Under-17 World Cup kicked off in the capital. However, it has shown a steady decline since then. An AQI score of 200-300 is classified as poor and can cause “breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure”.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi’s air quality is likely to deteriorate in the next few days with PM2.5 levels already in the “poor” category. The PM2.5 levels were recorded at 148 micrograms per cubic metre (mcm) on Wednesday evening, twice the safe standard. The PM10 levels were recorded at 402mcm, four times the safe standard.

PM 2.5 levels at Anand Vihar, Mandir Marg and RK Puram also remained at 2-3 times the safe standard.

Officials from Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) said slow wind speed is also leading to an increase in AQI with particulate matter not being allowed to disperse freely. “An increase in wind speed can help the air quality,” said an RWFC official.