Rains wash away Delhi’s polluted blanket, Diwali air unlikely to be ‘severe’
Delhi and its adjoining areas experienced a much-needed reprieve from its deteriorating air quality as rain showers graced the national capital region on Friday.
The intermittent rainfall throughout the day significantly improved the air quality in the city. The drizzles have helped settle the suspended particulate matter, particularly PM 2.5 and PM 10, providing relief to the residents who have been grappling with hazardous air quality levels in recent days.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported a substantial improvement in the Air Quality Index (AQI) across various monitoring stations in Delhi.
The AQI, which had previously entered the ‘severe’ and ‘severe plus’ category, registered a marked reduction, indicating ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ air quality in several areas. 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’.
With Diwali just around the corner, concerns had been mounting about the potential exacerbation of air pollution due to the customary bursting of firecrackers during the celebrations.
The air quality is expected to improve further due to wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants, reported PTI. The wind speed is expected to increase to around 15 kilometres per hour on Saturday which will help disperse pollutants ahead of Diwali on November 12. IMD officials had also said a change in the wind direction from northwest to southeast due to a fresh western disturbance affecting northwest India would help reduce the contribution of smoke from stubble burning.
Restrictions under GRAP and Odd-Even scheme
Meanwhile, stringent restrictions mandated under the final stage of the Centre’s graded action response plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR have also been implemented in the national capital. The restrictions included a ban on all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi. The Delhi government, however, deferred its plan to implement the Odd-Even vehicle rationing scheme after the Supreme Court took a stern view of the administration’s efforts to combat pollution.
“An improvement has been witnessed in the air quality of Delhi. The pollution levels had reached severe plus and AQI was over 450, which has now improved to around 300. The government has decided to postpone the decision to implement odd-even in November 13-20 period,” Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai said at a press conference at the Delhi secretariat.