Delhi Pollution: AQI goes up again, air to remain in ‘very poor’ zone till Friday

TNN / Updated: Nov 22, 2023, 08:51 IST

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The air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region remained in the 'very poor' category, with the air quality index (AQI) at 372. The AQI also stayed in the 'very poor' band in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, and Greater Noida. Some stations in Delhi even reported 'severe' air quality. Stubble burning in neighboring states contributed to 10.24% of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution. Despite an increase in wind speed, the air quality did not improve. November has already witnessed nine 'severe' and nine 'very poor' days in terms of air quality.

Delhi Pollution: AQI goes up again, air to remain in ‘very poor’ zone till Friday

AQI also remained in the ‘very poor’ band in the rest of the National Capital Region — Ghaziabad (346), Gurgaon (331), Noida (330), Faridabad (322) and Greater Noida (304)

NEW DELHI: The air quality in the city stayed in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday, with the air quality index (AQI) at 372. The air quality is likely to stay in the same category till Friday, according to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
AQI also remained in the ‘very poor’ band in the rest of the National Capital Region — Ghaziabad (346), Gurgaon (331), Noida (330), Faridabad (322) and Greater Noida (304).
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At some stations in Delhi, the air quality even turned ‘severe’. AQI at Bawana was 431 at 5pm while Mundka recorded it at 420, Punjabi Bagh at 408 and Jahangirpuri at 407. Nehru Nagar, Rohini and Wazirpur reported it at 402 each.

Satellites detected 513 paddy residue burning events in Punjab, 110 in Uttar Pradesh and 54 in Haryana. The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 was estimated at 10.24% on Tuesday against 2.25% on Monday, according to the Decision Support System, the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences.
Wind speed picked up during the day, but failed to improve the air quality. After calm winds on Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday, “wind speed increased up to 15kmph for a few hours during the day. Calm wind conditions are unlikely on Tuesday night as winds are likely to pick up”, said an official of the meteorological department. But it is predicted to decrease from Wednesday evening. “Winds at the speed of 10 to 12kmph are likely to blow on Wednesday till noon,” said an official.

TOI had reported on Monday that November was turning out to be the second most polluted month in the past six years after 2021. The month has already witnessed nine ‘severe’ and nine ‘very poor’ days. Of the nine ‘very poor’ days, the readings were above 390 on four days.
Safdarjung, the city’s base station, saw shallow fog with visibility at 700 metres around 7am. The visibility rose to 1,500 metres at Safdarjung during the day, but the weather turned cloudy in the evening.

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