Delhi continued its losing battle with air pollution on Saturday, marking the fifth consecutive day of “poor” air quality index (AQI) in the capital and taking it closer to the “very poor” levels. Amid unfavourable meteorological factors, firecracker bursting is set to cause further deterioration in air quality, with forecasts predicting the AQI to breach the “severe” levels over the next few days.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI of 0-50 as “good”, 51-100 as “satisfactory”, 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor” and 401-500 as “severe”. The 24-hour average AQI on Saturday was 268, continuing the worsening trend of readings of 254 and 245 recorded over the two days preceding it, according to the CPCB’s daily bulletin.
Forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) suggest that the AQI might degrade to “severe” by Tuesday.
“The air quality is very likely to be in the upper-end of the poor category on Sunday. The air quality is very likely to be in the upper-end of the very poor category on Monday as well. The air quality may reach the severe category on Tuesday in case of enhanced emissions from firecrackers. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the severe to poor category,” the AQEWS bulletin on Saturday evening said.
Other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) fared worse, with Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh recording “very poor” air for the third consecutive day, and recording the worst AQI in the country for the third consecutive day.
According to CPCB data, the 24-hour average AQI in Ghaziabad was 324 (“very poor”) on Saturday, 306 on Friday and 307 on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gurugram and Greater Noida recorded AQIs of 258 (poor) and 248 (poor), respectively. While Faridabad’s AQI stayed in the “moderate” category, it did show significant deterioration from the day before. On Saturday, the AQI of Faridabad was 190 (moderate), worse than the AQI of 105 (“moderate”) recorded a day before.
To be sure, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas imposed Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) on October 14. Under the same, a 27-point action plan is already in place in the capital. Depending on the situation, more stringent curbs may be imposed under the Grap.
Delhi’s temperature, meanwhile, increased slightly on Saturday. The maximum temperature was 33.5 degrees Celsius (°C), 0.9°C above normal. It was 32.6°C a day before; this was 0.6°C above normal.
The minimum temperature also increased slightly, clocking at 19.6°C, 1.2°C below normal, as compared to 18.4°C a day before. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also predicted thick smog from Sunday morning.
An IMD official said, “A smog or shallow fog is likely to form at many places in Delhi during morning hours from Sunday to Tuesday. In the later hours of the day, mainly clear skies are expected to persist with mist or haze forming from noon onwards.”
The official added that a mist or haze will continue to persist throughout the rest of the week as well. The temperature might dip slightly over the week, according to IMD forecasts. The maximum temperature is likely to be around 31-33°C from Tuesday and the minimum temperature is expected to dip to the 17-19°C range by Thursday.
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