Delhi air pollution: AQI remains ‘severe’; fog-like condition across NCR

The residents of Delhi yet again woke up inhaling toxic air as the capital’s air quality index remained in the ‘severe’ category on Friday morning as unfavourable meteorological conditions hindered the dispersion of pollutants.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), places like Anand Vihar, RK Puram, IGI Airport and Dwarka reported AQI figures crossing the 400-mark at 5am.

Delhi-NCR air pollution: Latest updates

The average AQI in Anand Vihar was recorded at 447, the CPCB data showed at 5am, with PM2.5 remaining the prominent pollutant.

The AQI clocked at 465 in RK Puram, 467 at the IGI Airport and 490 in Dwarka, the CPCB data showed.

In some respite for the residents of Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, the air quality stayed in the ‘very poor’ (still very unhealthy) category, the data showed.

The CPCB website showed Noida Sector-125’s AQI of 352, while the AQI was recorded at 314 in Knowledge Park – III in Greater Noida.

In Haryana’s Gurugram, there seems to be no respite in sight for the residents as the AQI stood at 444 in Sector-51 at 5am, the CPCB data showed.

Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4pm every day, stood at 419 on Thursday. It was 401 on Wednesday, 397 on Tuesday, 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday, 220 on Saturday and 279 on Friday.

Neighbouring Ghaziabad (376), Gurugram (363), Greater Noida (340), Noida (355) and Faridabad (424) also recorded very poor to severe air quality.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, 401 and 450 severe and above 450 severe plus.

Recent findings from a joint project by the Delhi government and IIT-Kanpur found that vehicular emissions accounted for about 38 per cent of the capital’s air pollution on Wednesday. This reduced to 25 per cent on Thursday.

Calm winds and low temperatures are allowing accumulation of pollutants and relief is unlikely over the next few days, an official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down, he said.

Despite the Delhi government implementing stringent measures, including a ban on construction work and the entry of diesel-guzzling trucks into the city, to control pollution, the city’s air quality dropped over the last few days.

According to IQAir, a Swiss company that specialises in air quality monitoring, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world on Thursday, followed by Baghdad and Lahore. But on Friday, Delhi was ranked at 4, while Lahore was the most polluted city.

The concentration of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the respiratory system and trigger respiratory problems, exceeded the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by six to seven times in these areas.

According to doctors, breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a day. Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dramatically raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

On Thursday, the Delhi government set up a six-member special task force to ensure strict implementation of the Centre’s air pollution control plan GRAP in the national capital, environment minister Gopal Rai said.

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena came down heavily on the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi on Thursday, alleging that the former is playing “truant” on the issue of stubble burning and the latter involved in “over-hyped events” like the odd-even road-rationing scheme, while the national capital is gasping for breath due to alarming levels of air pollution.

Setting the stage for a fresh confrontation between the LG’s office and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation in Delhi, Saxena asserted that blaming others for the pollution problem will not help and the solution lies within the city itself.