It’s hard to breathe in Delhi! On Friday, the air emergency of the national capital has taken a toxic turn. The toxic chemicals have thickened the smog and have sent the air quality to its worst. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi has reached 471 on the scale of 500, higher than the day after Diwali, which was 462.
However, the officials have earlier said that no major changes have been expected in AQI in the next five-six days.
Friday was the sixth ‘severe’ day in the past eight days and the share of stubble burning in Delhi pollution is increased from 25% on Thursday and 36% on the next day. The state has been advised to implement ‘emergency’ measures under the Graded Respond Action Plan (GRAP) as the city’s PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations have been over 500 and 300 micrograms per cubic, respectively. As per CPCB data, Delhi-NCR’s 24-hour PM10 concentration was at 557.4 micrograms per cubic metre at 7 pm on Friday while PM2.5 was 373.1 micrograms per cubic metre during the same time. The safe limit for PM10 and PM2.5 is 100 and 60 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
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R K Jenamani, the senior scientist at India Meteorological Department, said, “Delhi has reported moderate smog conditions through the day with poor visibility at the range of 300-800m. For the first time in this season, poor visibility conditions, especially during the afternoon, were recorded due to smog cover across Delhi-NCR throughout the day.”
As per the experts and environmentalists, there are no chances of relief for the next five-six days.
V K Soni, head, IMD, said, “The wind speed is likely to remain the same for the next few days, hampering the dispersal of pollutants. No significant change in air quality is predicted for the next four to five days.”