Delhi’s overall Air Quality index which was 313 (very poor) on Wednesday improved to a reading of 297 (poor) o... Read More

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality improved slightly on Thursday, however both the average PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels continued to remain high -- gradually increasing through the day as wind speeds remained low in the region. Delhi’s overall Air Quality index which was 313 (very poor) on Wednesday improved to a reading of 297 (poor) on Thursday evening, however forecasts show not much relief is likely in the coming days with air quality deteriorating once again in the next 72 hours.

The capital is already seeing "very poor" measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) being implemented, barring an increase in parking charges by three to four times which the enforcement body EPCA says is unlikely to be implemented this year in absence of a parking policy. EPCA said no additional measures will be implemented unless the air quality reaches close to "severe", however localized directions are likely to be by Friday to tackle Delhi’s hotspots.

"Locations like Anand Vihar , DTU, Mundka have all been in very poor and even touched severe already. Directions will be issued soon to tackle pollution sources in these hotspots and extra measures can be enforced like extensively carrying out sprinkling of water to settle dust and pollutants," said Sunita Narain, member of EPCA.

Data according to the CPCB central control room showed Delhi’s average PM 10 levels touching 350 micrograms per cubic metre at 6 pm on Thursday, while the average PM 2.5 levels were recorded at 146 micrograms per cubic metre at the same time. The standards for both ultrafine particles are 100 and 60 microgams per cubic metre respectively.

According to the Delhi government, the city is seeing a deterioration in air quality due to a drop in wind speed and similar conditions could prevail in the next few days with high moisture in the air, aided by crop burning taking place in the northern parts. The government said wind speeds are likely to hover between 5 to 10 km/hr only which will make dispersion of pollutants difficult in the coming days.

CPCB officials said all agencies in the capital have been asked to intensify their actions on the ground with pollution likely to rise post-Dussehra on Friday. "The meteorological conditions are favourable to trap pollutants and there could be a spike after Dussehra as well. All agencies have been asked to intensify their efforts to combat this," said a senior CPCB official on Thursday.

Forecasts by SAFAR – a body under the ministry of earth sciences shows Delhi’s air quality is likely to deteriorate in the next three days with the average PM 10 levels to rise by around 50 micrograms per cubic metre while the average PM 2.5 levels could rise by around 20 micrograms per cubic metre.

