Delhiites woke up to ‘very poor’ air quality as Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 326 as of 8 am on Tuesday, a day after Diwali. Areas in Delhi such as Narela, Delhi University, Anand Vihar, India Gate and Dwarka reported very poor air quality. Neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad had an AQI of 285, 320, 294, 315 and 310 respectively. Poor air quality was reported from areas like Cyber Hub and Najafgarh.
Delhi recorded an AQI of 382 on Diwali last year, 414 in 2020, 337 in 2019, 281 in 2018, 319 in 2017 and 431 in 2016, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
Though Delhiites burnt firecrackers despite a ban, the intensity was slightly less compared to the last two years. The Delhi government led by Aam Aadmi Party had imposed a ban on production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, 2023, including on Diwali.
Besides firecrackers, farm fires or stubble burning has also contributed to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution around Diwali. The share of emissions from farm fires and firecrackers is lesser compared to previous years due to reduced firecracker bursting and moderately warm and windier conditions slowing down accumulation of pollutants.
Gufran Beig, founder project director of SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Science, told news agency PTI, “The share of PM2.5 in Delhi’s air has increased which is indicative of contribution from firecrackers and stubble burning.”
Beig added, “Though the active fire counts have doubled, the wind direction is north westernly and the wind speed is moderate (not very favourable for the transport of smoke from farm fires). Hence, the contribution of stubble burning is not very significant.” He further noted that stubble burning is likely to contribute 12 to 15 per cent of Delhi’s PM2.5 solution on Tuesday.
(With PTI, India Today inputs)
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