European satellite captures heavy pollution in north India
Satellite images from European Space Agency showed alarming levels of pollution
Satellite images captured by the European Space Agency (ESA) have revealed alarming levels of pollution in northern India on November 10, when Delhi was struggling with a crisis. The images were released in December when the air quality of the Capital remained “very poor”.
The first batch of images captured by the Sentinel-5p, “the first dedicated to monitoring earth’s atmosphere”, was released two days ago. The images are of the time when Delhi was under health emergency.
According to ESA, the images were captured between November 6 and 14, when the amalgamation of several factors like crop burning, vehicular pollution and Diwali made the air quality of Delhi “severe”.
The Capital along with the other cities of North India faced a two-month long very poor air quality and still witnessing the same.
The air quality of Delhi stayed “very poor” in general on Sunday but several stations recorded “severe” air quality. The slight smog was present as the temperature decreased and wind speed was below normal. The CPCB recorded air quality index at 370 at evening 8 PM. The agency also observed the air-quality fell under “severeplus or emergency” levels at Anand Vihar in West Delhi with PM2.5 reaching 433 in the morning – 17 times the safe limit, Noida’s Sector 125 and Vasundhara in Ghaziabad. In Delhi, Delhi Technical University (DTU) in North Delhi and R.K Puram in Southwest Delhi fell under “severe” air-quality.
While monitoring agencies predict the air-pollution situation to worsen over days, respite is likely towards Tuesday with possibilities of light rains.
“The national capital is likely to witness light rainfall on Tuesday, which may improve the air-quality,” an IMD officials said.
The humidity on Sunday at 8.30 a.m. was recorded at 92 per cent. Saturday’s minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average while the maximum temperature was recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius.
The MET department also observed that in the coming week the wind speed might also improve which will help the blow away the smog.
The air quality is also likely to change but the central agency also said that if the temperature comes down rapidly then the smog and the pollutants will become heavy and more wind speed will be required. The environmentalists and doctors have suggested the children and the senior citizens wear musk and not to stay in out for long.
The experts also predicted that as the air quality is remaining severe for more than a month it might cause a lot of lung infections and breathing trouble to the citizens.