Delhiites breathed in comparatively cleaner air on Friday, which was the first day of the 15-day trial of the odd-even car-rationing scheme.
At 20 locations studied by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were about 5 to 10 per cent lower than the previous day, and about 40 per cent less compared to the average for the same time of the season in previous years.
To assess the impact of the new policy on day one, mobile dust samplers, which use light scattering technique, were deployed at 20 spots in eight Assembly constituencies.
According to the data, the level of PM2.5 was between 121 to 226 micrograms per cubic metre at these 20 locations on Friday. This is about 40 per cent less than the average observed across Delhi in previous years, which has been around 250 micrograms per cubic metre. Even though Friday’s average PM2.5 level at these spots was 149 micrograms per cubic metre, it was over two times the standard of 60.
Levels of coarse particulate matter (PM10) ranged between 149 and 503 micrograms per cubic metre. The average PM10 level was about 25 to 40 per cent less than the average for previous years, which is around 400 to 500 micrograms per cubic metre. But with an average of 303 micrograms per cubic metre, the PM10 level was still three times the standard of 100.
“The pollution levels have decreased by about 7 to 10 per cent compared to the previous day. But East Delhi saw a reduction of about 5 per cent, since it’s closer to the border with Uttar Pradesh,” said a DPCC official.
The Delhi government said on Saturday that higher pollution levels were seen in all border areas including Rohtas Nagar, Patparganj and Kondli, where air quality was worse than in Central Delhi.
“Border areas like Anand Vihar, which bear the brunt of vehicular pollution, including entry of trucks from UP, clearly show that the States in the NCR need to take immediate steps to supplement the efforts of Delhi,” said the government statement.
Meanwhile, the DPCC will continue to monitor air quality in 20 to 25 locations every day, apart from Sundays till the odd-even experiment is on. Five-vehicle mounted monitors as well as the existing six monitoring stations will collect data from a total of 200 locations during the 15-day initiative.
