Delhi, Noida’s air quality turns ‘severe’ as farm fire rages in Punjab, Haryana

The residents of Delhi and Noida woke up to a thick layer of smog as the air quality again slipped to the ‘severe’ category amid continuous stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.

The air quality in New Delhi’s Anand Vihar was recorded in the “severe” category due to poor dispersion of pollutants owing to weak winds, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the last updated Air Quality Index (AQI) at 8am, Anand Vihar’s average AQI was 458 which falls in the ‘severe’ category on a scale up to 500.

The PM 10 level touched 500, the highest on the scale, while the PM 2.5 was recorded at 500 as well. The average PM 10 level was 458, while the average PM 2.5 was 431.

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”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

The ‘severe’ category affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases, according to the CPCB.

In Noida as well, the average AQI was recorded at 422 (‘severe’). The PM 10 level touched 493, but the PM 2.5 was recorded at 500. The average PM 10 level was 348, while the average PM 2.5 was 422.

Similarly, the average AQI of Gurugram was recorded at 399 (‘very poor’, which causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure). But both the PM 10 and PM 2.4 levels touched 500 in the city. The average PM 10 level was 366, while the average PM 2.5 was 399.

On Monday, the CPCB had predicted that the AQI is expected to remain in the “very poor” to “severe” categories for the next five days.

According to CPCB’s AQI bulletin on Tuesday, Delhi was the most polluted city in the country with an AQI reading 424 (severe).

The air quality in the city improved marginally on Wednesday due to an increase in the wind speed, which picked up around 11am and helped disperse pollutants. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) in Gurugram on Wednesday was 310, an improvement from the 390 recorded on Tuesday.

Air quality experts said though pollution has reduced slightly on Wednesday, the pollution problem is going to persist as stubble fires have increased. The dip in mercury will also exacerbate the pollution in the coming days, they said.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its forecast said that overall air quality in Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the ”very poor” to ”severe” category on Thursday, and in ”very poor” category on Friday.

For the subsequent six days, the air quality is likely to remain between ”very poor” and ”poor”, it said.

The number of farm fires in Haryana has crossed the 2,000 mark with the state reporting 88 fresh stubble-burning cases on Wednesday further deteriorating the air quality of most of the cities of the state.

Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav has shared a graphic and statistics on Twitter to explain how Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government is responsible for turning Delhi into a “gas chamber”.

He said while Punjab saw a more than 19% rise in farm fires over what was seen in 2021, Haryana (where the BJP in power) has seen a 30.6% drop in stubble burning during the same period.