With a drop in wind speed and the return of fog, the air quality of Delhi turned ‘very poor’ on Wednesday, following a long spell when strong winds had helped keep the pollutants at bay.
The levels of both fine and coarse particles — PM2.5 and PM10 — were over three times the respective safe limits, as per the Union Earth Science Ministry’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
The 24-hour rolling average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in the evening reached 182 micrograms per cubic metre (very poor) and 343 micrograms/cubic metre (poor) respectively.
Anand Vihar
In fact, PM2.5 levels peaked at Anand Vihar at 2 a.m., with 436 micrograms per cubic metre or over seven times the standard of 60, as per the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
Also at Anand Vihar, the highest level of PM10 was recorded with 848 micrograms per cubic metre at 2.30 a.m.
This was more than eight times the safe level of 100 micrograms per cubic metre.
The National Air Quality Index too showed alarming levels of pollution, with five stations showing AQIs of “severe” and four showing “very poor” — the two highest levels.
Though wind speed on Wednesday was comparable to the wind during Delhi’s recent smog episode in early-November, it was windier than on Tuesday.
With some wind and relatively pleasant weather, Wednesday’s pollution could not be blamed entirely on meteorological factors.
“This points to the fact that apart from wind and temperatures, sources of pollution that are going unchecked are contributing to smog,” said Sunil Dahiya of Greenpeace India.
