Residents of New Delhi and the surrounding areas face a serious health risk as the air quality fell to the ‘severe’ level for the first time this season on Wednesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 429. This was the worst air quality the nation has seen in the last 24 hours.
The Dramatic Pollution Increase In Delhi
The AQI was 334 on Tuesday night, marking a dramatic increase in pollution levels over the previous 24 hours in the nation’s capital.
On Wednesday, 30 of Delhi’s 36 monitoring sites recorded air quality in the “severe” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According to CPCB data, Hajipur in Bihar has the second-highest air pollution level in the nation, with an AQI of 417.
Up until Tuesday night, the air quality in New Delhi had been “very poor” for 14 days in a row. The biggest source of pollution, at 15.4%, was automobile emissions. The situation was made worse by stubble burning in neighboring states, which covered the city in a thick coating of smog.
An Improvement To Be Seen By Thursday?
PM2.5 and PM10, two important pollutants, were present in the air at quite high levels. Tiny particulate matter in the air can enter circulation and travel deep into the lungs, causing serious health dangers. Long-term exposure can raise the risk of heart disease and respiratory problems.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Warning System predicts that slow wind speeds will continue to make the weather unfavorable for the efficient dispersion of pollutants.
Since the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is still hopeful that things will improve by Thursday, no urgent anti-pollution measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will be applied despite the “severe” AQI.
A score of zero to fifty is regarded as “good,” 51 to 100 as “satisfactory,” 101 to 200 as “moderate,” 201 to 300 as “poor,” 301 to 400 as “very poor,” 401 to 450 as “severe,” and over 450 as “severe plus.”
Extreme Fog Tomorrow?
Meanwhile, November temperatures in the capital are abnormally high since the precise meteorological patterns that usually signal the start of winter have not yet materialized. But throughout the last 24 hours, the city’s temperature has somewhat decreased.
According to the India Meteorological Department’s most recent estimate, the city’s hottest temperature in the last 24 hours was 32.8 degrees Celsius or 4.3 degrees above average. At 17 degrees, the lowest recorded temperature was 3.5 degrees below average. On Thursday, extremely heavy fog is expected to cover the city.
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