Farm fires choke Delhi, AQI enters danger zone
SEASON’S WORST Spurt in stubble burning, low wind speed drive up pollution before Diwali
PATIALA/NEWDELHI: Farms in Punjab recorded a spurt in cases of crop residue burning over the weekend, satellite i mages show, and winds slowed down in much of north India – creating two potent conditions that resulted in the air quality in the national capital plunging on Tuesday to its worst level so far this season.
The average air quality index for the day was 401 – classified as ‘severe’, the second worst of five grades of pollution – as satellite pictures released by the National Aeronautical Space Agency (Nasa) showed a band of haze stretching from across the border in Pakistan to Agra in western Uttar Pradesh.
“It is because of unfavourable meteorological conditions that air quality has worsened. A cyclonic circulation over Odisha is blocking winds, as a result of which the wind speed [in north India] has dropped as has the ‘ventilation index’ (which determines how fast pollutants get dispersed),” a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) official said. “Mist in the morning and pollutants from stubble burning regions of neighbouring states are making the air toxic,” he added.
In three days, close to 6,700 instances of crop burning were recorded across Punjab. Officials said this was because farmers took advantage of holidays when field inspectors did not visit
Scientists say a band of haze is developing across the Indo-gangetic plain, where a channel of slow air has formed. A cyclonic circulation on East coast is stopping winds from picking up