The air quality in the Capital improved slightly on Tuesday with a 24-hour average AQI of 312 but remained in the “very poor” category. The AQI on Monday was 353, and 349, 345, and 366 on the previous three days.
The forecast according to SAFAR shows that the air quality is likely to deteriorate and remain in lower end of “very poor” category on October 28 and “very poor” air quality is likely to persist till October 30.
Impact quality
SAFAR also reported a significant increase in the number of farm fires observed in Punjab (2,047), Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which are likely to impact the air quality of Delhi-NCR and other parts of north-west India in the coming days. It added that the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution rose to 23% on Monday, which is the maximum so far this season.
“The increase in local surface wind speed is a positive sign for Tuesday and Wednesday but the impact of stubble related intrusion is a negative sign,” the SAFAR bulletin said.
The air quality in Gurugram was also in the “very poor” category with an AQI of 306. Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad had AQI figures of 320, 306 and 318, respectively.
“The predominant surface wind is likely to be from variable direction of Delhi with wind speed up to 05-10 kmph, mainly clear sky and mist in the morning October 28.
The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from East-Southeast/Northeast direction of Delhi with wind speed up to 05-10 kmph, mainly clear sky and mist in the morning on October 29,” stated SAFAR.
‘Green Delhi’ app
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch ‘Green Delhi’ mobile application on Thursday, using which citizens can bring pollution-causing activities to the government’s notice, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday.
There will be a deadline to address complaints and the CM will get a daily report about resolved and pending grievances. The Delhi government has also launched a massive campaign against air pollution, named ‘Yuddh Pradushan Ke Viruddh’..
