New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality oscillated between ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories on Sunday as pollutants released in the atmosphere due to bursting of firecrackers got trapped due to slow surface winds, authorities said. The overall air quality index was recorded at 405, which falls in the very poor category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) recorded the AQI (Air Quality Index) at 419, which falls in the severe category.
On Sunday, the Particle Matter (PM) 2.5, particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, level was recorded at 271, while the PM10 level was recorded at 440 in Delhi, according to CPCB.
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Seventeen areas in Delhi recorded severe air quality while 18 recorded very poor air quality, according to CPCB. Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Greater Noida and Noida recorded severe air quality while Gurgaon recorded very poor air quality, according to CPCB.
An AQI between 301 and 400 is “very poor”, and 401 and 500 is “severe”.
Satellite images by SAFAR showed moderate stubble burning fire count that is contributing to 13 per cent pollution in Delhi.
SAFAR said the AQI is fluctuating between very poor to severe categories as a significant amount of local emissions, smoke from firecrackers, was added on Wednesday and Thursday, and it could not flush out due to slow wind speeds.
SAFAR has predicted the air quality would “significantly improve” by Monday.
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.
