Air Pollution: Delhi’s Air Quality Nosedives To ‘Very Poor’ Category After Brief Respite

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality improved through the day on Thursday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) falling down to 213, after rainfall washed away pollutants. But after a brief respite, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated again to ‘very poor’ category on Friday as dispersion of pollutants slowed down, authorities said. The overall air quality index was recorded at 285, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Sixteen areas recorded ‘very poor’ air quality and 22 areas in Delhi recorded ‘poor’ air quality, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board.

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On Friday, the PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) level was recorded at 139, while the PM10 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) was recorded at 210 in Delhi.

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’.

Delhi’s air quality has showed significant improvement in the past two days after rain washed away the pollutants. But as rain subsided, a rise in pollution level was again recorded on Friday, authorities said. According to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, fire counts observed in past 24 hours over northwest region of India were few (less than 100 counts).

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“The impact of biomass burning in northwest India is not significant over Delhi,” it said. The PM2.5 concentration will improve in the next two days.

The air quality is likely to improve next two days but remain in ‘poor’/’very poor’ category in Delhi-NCR. The impact of biomass burning in northwest India is marginal over Delhi, it said.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.