Haze horror likely to ease from Friday
CHOKING CITY Experts say surface winds speed will pick up, PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants likely to be down by 50% by Friday but air quality still to be ‘very poor’
MUSA KHAN, a 17-year-old student, who moved to Delhi from Nainital two years ago
were last seen in November 2016 when the AQI had shot up to 497.
“The level of PM2.5 – the ultrafine particles that can cause maximum harm — shot up more than 20 times above the permissible limit in some places such as Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, ITO and Delhi University on Wednesday. On Tuesday it was hovering around 10 – 15 times above the permissible limit,” said an official of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Experts said that the present meteorological conditions are such that it was not allowing any pollutants to disperse.
“The pollution has got trapped. The primary reason for this is two-fold. While surface level winds have become very calm and are not allowing the pollutants to disperse, high altitude winds, that travel at least two kilometres above the ground and are primary responsible for transportation of pollutants, are strong. They are not only bringing in pollutants from stubble burning regions of Punjab and Haryana, but are also bringing in moisture from the east. This is aggravating the conditions,” said a senior official of the MET department.
But this situation is likely to be reversed from Friday, experts have forecasted.
“The surface winds, which are very calm at present, are likely to pick up speed again. This will help the pollutants trapped in Delhi’s air to disperse. The high altitude winds, which are presently very strong, will also become weaker. This would ensure that the pollutants which they transport are not deposited over Delhi,” said Gufran Beig project director of SAFAR. Rajasthan Uttarakhand