Despite rain, Capital’s air quality stays ‘very poor’
New Delhi, December 4
The national capital witnessed light rainfall in some parts late on Sunday evening. Yet the air quality index stood at 310 in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday.
The air quality index in the range of 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has predicted that the air quality in the city will continue to remain in the ‘very poor’ category till December 7. Besides, surface wind will be calm in the morning but speed of wind coming from northwest directions is likely to increase during the daytime.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the temperatures in the national capital will fall in coming days, with minimum temperatures dropping to 9°C by Sunday. Also, moderate fog will engulf Delhi for the next two days and shallow to moderate fog will be witnessed during the morning hours by the end of the week.
The city recorded maximum temperature at 24.7°C and minimum temperature at 14.6°C. Mercury is expected to fall below 23°C by the end of the week.
According to the real-time study conducted by the IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Delhi and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), have attributed pollution in the Capital to burning of waste in the open (54%) and vehicle emissions (36%).
However, since November 30, data on secondary inorganic aerosol is not available. It contributes to presence of particles such as sulphate, nitrate and ammonium, which are formed in the atmosphere due to its interaction with various gases. Its potential sources include power plants, refineries, brick kilns, vehicles, industry, agriculture, organic waste decomposition, and open drains.
As per the data of the Central Pollution Control Board, AQI was recorded at 313 at Anand Vihar, 343 at Bawana, 284 at DTU, 347 at Dwarka Sector 8, 375 at IGI Airport, 376 at ITO, 378 at Jahangirpuri, 366 at Najafgarh, 309 at Mundka, 300 at Narela, 343 at New Moti Bagh, 382 at Nehru Nagar, 310 at Patparganj, 341 at Punjabi Bagh, 349 at Rohini, 224 at Shadipur, 307 at Sonia Vihar and 334 at Wazirpur.
