Delhi air quality returns to 'very poor' category
Air quality in the national capital turned ‘very poor’ on Wednesday as wind speed picked up early morning and dispersed pollutants, authorities said. On Tuesday, Delhi-NCR had recorded severe pollution level for the first time in season. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had recorded the overall air quality index of Delhi at 366.
The improvement in air quality can be attributed to increased speed of early morning winds, said an official with the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
"Early morning winds picked up, which came as respite and dispersed particles rapidly and pulled back air quality towards very poor range," the official said.
The city had recorded the worst air quality of the season on Tuesday after pollution level turned severe at 401.
The deteriorating air quality had prompted authorities to ban construction activities along with halting operations of industries using coal and biomass as fuel between November 1 and 10.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority are considering regulating use of private vehicles if the pollution level in the national capital deteriorated.
On Wednesday, the PM2.5 was recorded at 215. Fine particulates can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10.
The PM10 level (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) in Delhi stood at 370, according to the CPCB data.
According to SAFAR, regional factors like stubble burning contributed to 22 per cent of PM2.5 pollution in the national capital on Wednesday.
A thick pall of haze continued to engulf Delhi and would continue to hover over the city for the next three days, authorities said.
