THAT CHOKING SENSATION IS BACK!

That choking sensation is back!

Air Quality Dips After 3-Mth Respite, Worse Yet To Come

After a threemonth respite, Delhi has again started recording “poor“ air quality . Till this week, air quality was hovering between “good“ and “moderate“, but experts explained the seasonal transition will herald “poor“ conditions, which will possibly worsen over the next couple of months.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) showed PM 2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles) level in “poor“ category on Saturday . The 24-hour average was around 109 micrograms per cubic metre against a safe standard of 60 micrograms, the highest recorded in three months. “It's a seasonal phenomenon,“ said a scientist.“The temperature has started falling after the retreat of the monsoon. Many parts of India have started to become colder than Delhi. This will influence air quality here. There is no wind too, making it conducive for pollution levels to rise.“

Delhi saw a long period of “good“ air quality this year because the rains were adequate, said experts. On Saturday , both the maximum and minimum temperatures were slightly above normal, but wind speed was very low. The wind speed date of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed negative vertical wind speed at RK Puram around 7pm, while the horizontal wind speed here was less than 2 metres per second. “Mainly because of the calm conditions, the polluting particles are not getting dispersed,“ said a DPCC scientist.

The AQI in other cities such as Faridabad, Gurgaon, Kanpur, Agra, Jodhpur and Lucknow, normally more polluted than Delhi, had better “moderate“ or “satisfactory“ air quality on Saturday .

The Central Pollution Control Board's national air quality index monitoring showed a steady rise in PM 2.5 and PM 10 (coarse pollution particles) in Delhi, with AQI going up from 118 to 246 on Saturday . Scientists warned of “very poor“ to “severe“ levels in the festive season, particularly around Diwali, perhaps prompting the chief minister to ask the state environment department and DPCC to review the situation.

(toi)