POLLUTION

Delhi Air Quality Becomes ‘Very Poor’; Further Degradation Expected Due to Cloudy Weather, Slow Winds

Smog envelops Delhi's Bhalsava landfill ring road. (Rajesh Mehta/TOI, BCCL, Delhi) — Smog envelops Delhi's Bhalsava landfill ring road.
(Rajesh Mehta/TOI, BCCL, Delhi)

Friday, December 10: After experiencing slightly better-than-normal air quality throughout the week, the pollution levels in Delhi have risen once again. As of Friday afternoon, the capital’s overall air quality index (AQI) stands at 306, slipping from yesterday’s ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ category.

As of 1 p.m. on Friday, the Anand Vihar locality recorded the highest pollution levels in Delhi with a ‘very poor’ AQI of 393, closely followed by Jahangirpuri (AQI 386), Nehru Nagar (380) and Rohini (353).

AQIs between 301 to 400 are categorised as ‘very poor’, and prolonged exposure to such toxic air could result in respiratory illnesses. Further, AQIs between 201-300 are classified as ‘poor’, 101-200 are ‘moderate’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, and 0-50 ‘good. On the other hand, 401-500 are categorised as ‘severe’, and such high AQIs can affect healthy people while seriously impacting those with existing diseases.

The cloudy conditions in the capital played a role in trapping the pollutants near the ground, thereby spiking the air pollution levels across the city, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

Moreover, SAFAR has forecast that partly cloudy conditions are likely to persist for the next two days. But with the winds speeds being moderate, some ventilation effect is to be expected, and this will keep Delhi’s AQI within the ‘very poor’ category at least for the next 48 hours.

Come Sunday, however, the winds are expected to slow down, effectively causing further deterioration in the capital’s air quality. From Sunday to Tuesday, December 12-14, Delhi’s overall AQI will hit the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India continues to hear pleas on issues related to Delhi pollution.

In its earlier hearing, the court had expressed dissatisfaction over the measures taken by the government to decrease the pollution levels, to which the Centre had replied that it had successfully identified several violators of Delhi-NCR’s air pollution norms.

**

For weather, science, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.