Delhi’s air severe again, may hit emergency level
Schools stay open despite spike, govt to take call on extending ‘odd-even’ today
A thick haze returned to Delhi on Tuesday amid stubble burning in neighbouring states, with official forecasters saying the air quality could hit “emergency” levels during the next two days because of low surface wind and cloud cover, sparking concerns by parents over schoolchildren being exposed to poisonous pollutants outdoors.
The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 4pm bulletin on the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Tuesday showed the pollution was “severe” at 425, a sharp rise from 360 the previous day. By 11pm, the AQI had dipped to 449.
The 24-hour average concentration of PM2.5 ultra-fine particles reported by the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management-Delhi NCR’s dashboard breached the 300µg/m3 level regarded as the threshold beyond which the pollution is considered to be in the emergency zone.
The government’s air quality monitoring system, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said winds blowing from the northwest carried plumes of smoke from burning stubble in
Punjab and Haryana to New Delhi, causing the pollution to rise. “…The transport level wind direction is forecasted to be highly favourable for plume intrusion for the next two days,” it said.
“No sudden recovery is expected under this condition at least for the next two days and AQI is likely to deteriorate further towards SEVERE+ category by tomorrow (Wednesday). The condition may slightly improve by 15th November,” it added. The agency said that while the farm fire count had gone down, the wind pattern was bringing in airborne particles that are harmful to human
health.The Aam Aadmi Partyled Delhi government said it restricted outdoor activities in schools, but there were no immediate plans of shutting down schools. The extension of road rationing measures, popularly called the odd-even scheme, will be reviewed on Wednesday after assessing the pollution over the next 24 hours, Delhi’s environment minister Kailash Gahlot said. The scheme was suspended on Monday and Tuesday for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Authorities have faced criticism in the past over a delay in announcing a shutdown of schools over a technicality in the
emergency action plan, even as experts say young children should be kept indoors till pollution levels ease.
On November 3, the AQI level hit 494, the worst since 2016, triggering widespread complaints from residents of burning eyes, itchy throats and shortness of breath. Days after the air emergency, the Supreme Court pulled up the Union government and the administrations of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for failing to stop farm fires. When informed that farm fires were lower in Haryana than Punjab, the judges summoned Punjab’s chief secretary and made stern remarks.