New Delhi (NVI): With the onset of post-harvest season that traditionally involves stubble burning, the air quality of the national capital has yet again plunged into “Very Poor” category touching PM2.5 level. On October 15, it stood at 270. at 4 pm. The story is the same in the areas adjoining New Delhi, like Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad.
As per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), a government entity, deterioration in Delhi’s AQI may further accentuate from fourth week of October, indicating that the late monsoon withdrawal will have severe repercussions for air quality in North India.
According to data of the Central Pollution Control Board, Seventeen of the thirty seven air quality monitoring stations in the national capital recorded the overall AQI in the “very poor” category.
An AQI ranging from 0 to 50 is considered ‘good’; 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’; 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’; 201 to 300 is ‘poor’; 301 to 400 is ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 is ‘severe’.
On October 15, Delhi Environment Minister Kailash Gehlot had written to Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan, requesting access to SAFAR’s data so that the administration could take immediate corrective measures to curb pollution.
-bp/nad
