The air quality of the city worsened on Sunday to “poor” category from “moderate” level on Saturday. The pollution is likely to increase on Monday and Tuesday, said government-run monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
On Sunday, the average level of PM 2.5 — deadly respirable particles which is a chief pollutant — was (105.6 ug/m3) more than the safe limit (60ug/m3) as per Indian standards in Delhi and NCR at 6 p.m., said Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
On November 3, the PM2.5 level in Delhi and NCR had hit 625 ug/m3 — 10 times more than the safe limit.
However, Sunday’s level is still more than four times the safe limit (25 ug/m3) set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) on Sunday was 250, up from Saturday's 193, according to the 4 p.m. bulletin by the CPCB, which is the average of the past 24 hours. An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good” and 51-100 “satisfactory”.
The contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring States to Delhi's pollution was 3% on Sunday and is likely to be 4% on Monday, which is very less compared to the high of 44% earlier this season, said SAFAR.
“The SAFAR model forecast suggests AQI is likely to deteriorate marginally to the higher end of the poor category for tomorrow. Further deterioration to the very poor category is forecasted for December 3. Since fire count is low, no significant stubble impact is expecting in Delhi for tomorrow,” SAFAR said.
