High Wind Speed Keeps Delhi’s Air Pollution In Check

New Delhi: Delhi on Friday (March 1) woke up to a cold morning with partly cloudy sky. The pollution remains in the ‘moderate’ category with Air Quality Index docking at 132 in the morning. Similarly, on Thursday (February 28), high wind speed kept Delhi’s pollution level in check, which was recorded in the “moderate” category, according to authorities. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was 170. An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 comes under the “moderate” category, 201 and 300 is considered “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, while an AQI between 401 and 500 is considered “severe”.

Now for another 24 to 48 hours, in the absence of any significant weather system, the weather over Delhi-NCR will remain dry with the clear sky and bright sunshine. However, on March 2, another fresh Western Disturbance will approach the northern hills which will once again induce a cyclonic circulation over the northwestern plains. A trough will also extend from circulation up to South Uttar Pradesh, said Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.

Also Read: Air Purifier Industry To Be Worth $39 Million By 2023, Thanks To Air Pollution: ASSOCHAM-Techsci Study

This trough will be responsible for giving scattered rain and thundershowers over Delhi-NCR on March 2 and 3. Thereafter, the weather systems will once again weaken and move eastwards, leading to commencement of dry and cold northwesterly winds, it added.

In the National Capital Region, on Thursday, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Greater Noida also recorded “moderate” air quality, the CPCB said. The overall PM2.5 levels – fine particulate matters in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers – in Delhi was 70, while the PM10 level was 131, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) said. The SAFAR said the overall air quality in Delhi was in the “moderate” category.

Also Read: Now Track Air Pollution Levels With Mobile App ‘AQI India’ And Get Health Tips

Sporadic rainfall could not help much in precipitating pollution but high wind speed could keep it in check and nullified the additional moisture impact which increases pollution,” SAFAR said. “Wind speed is likely to reduce now. AQI is predicted to remain in moderate to poor category in next three days, it said.

Also Read: Kolkata To Have 5 More Automatic Air Quality Monitoring Stations By March

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.