Air quality touches a new low in Capital
ACCORDING TO SAFAR THE AIR QUALITY ON SATURDAY WILL BE POOR AVERAGING AT AROUND 280
The quality of air the capital touched new low on Friday with the National Air Quality Index ( AQI) recording an index of 429 at the RK Puram station.
According to the data compiled by the government of India, when the index reaches 401- 500, even healthy people experience respiratory troubles and those with hear t and lung diseases experience serious health impacts. While a limit of 0- 50 of air pollutants is considered to be good with minimal health impact, 401 -500 is considered severe.
At such high indices, asthma attacks can be triggered in those suffering from the condition, long-term respiratory illnesses, hypertension and heart disease is also a known effect.
The prominent pollutant on Friday was particulate matter, which causes difficulty in breathing. On Thursday, the air quality dropped to 410, the worst since the winter months.
According to SAFAR — the air quality monitoring facility headquartered at Pune — the air quality on Saturday will be poor averaging at around 280.
The AQI looks at the levels of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone in the air to calculate its quality.
The dust storms on Thursday and Friday, and the lack of rain are behind the deteriorating air quality in the Capital.
With rain expected early next week, the quality of air in the Capital is expected to improve.