Delhi air quality ‘severe’ days after reports of people flouting cracker ban

The air quality in the national capital  Delhi was recorded in the “very poor” category on Friday due to poor dispersion of pollutants owing to weak winds, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the last updated Air Quality Index (AQI) at 3pm, Anand Vihar’s average AQI was 455 which falls in the ‘severe’ category on the scale up to 500. At 7am, the AQI in the area was 455 – the highest in the season.

According to official data available, the PM 10 level touched 500, the highest on the scale, while the PM 2.5 was recorded at 455. The average PM 10 level was 458, while the average PM 2.5 was 400.

The ‘severe’ category in air quality affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases like asthma, bronchitis, according to the CPCB.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

The national capital witnessed four straight days of ‘poor’ air quality after reports of people flouting the Supreme Court of India imposed blanket ban on firecrackers.  

The Delhi government had in September announced a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, 2023, including on Deepavali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.

Notably, according to the data from the fire department, 201 fire calls were received at the fire stations all over Delhi. The incident reported this year is 49 more than previous year Diwali eve, which was reportedly 152 incidents. However, the fire incidents were reported to be 205 in the year 2020.

Delhi also witnessed a clear morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling a notch below normal at 14.6 degree Celsius. The relative humidity at 8.30am was 90 per cent, the weather office said.

Among the monitoring stations that recorded “very poor” air quality were Wazirpur (380), Patparganj (363), Vivek Vihar (397), Punjabi Bagh (370) and Jahangirpuri (397).

Delhi’s neighbouring city Noida saw the maximum PM 10 at 461. Noida’s average AQI remains in the ‘very poor’ category at 389.

According to the IMD, the sky will remain clear through the day and the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 32 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature on Thursday had settled at 32.3 degree Celsius, a notch above normal.