No respite for Delhi-NCR as air quality remains 'poor', may deteriorate further due to stubble burning

There's no respite for residents of Delhi and adjoining NCR as the air quality in the region continues to deteriorate. On Sunday, the Air Quality Index in parts of Gurugram remained 'very poor' while it was 'poor' in Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

As per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there was a heavy concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollutants in the air in the four districts surrounding the national capital.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

At 7 pm in the evening, an AQI of 319 was recorded by the station in Gurgaon's Sector 151 followed by 285 at the Teri Gram. It was 268 at Vikas Sadan and 198 at NISE Gwal Pahari, as per CPCB data.

Likewise, Faridabad also saw a poor AQI recorded at 297 at the station in Sector 11 followed by 276 at New Industrial Town and 240 at Sector 16A.

In Noida, the AQI was measured at 255 by the station at Sector 62 and 224 at Sector 116. In Greater Noida, an AQI of 279 was recorded in Knowledge Park V.

Ghaziabad's Loni had an AQI of 282 at 7 pm followed by 247 at Sanjay Nagar and 241 at Indirapuram.

On the other hand, Delhiites woke up to 'poor' air quality on Sunday morning with an air quality index (AQI) of 275 at 8:30 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 287 on Saturday. It was 239 on Friday and 315 on Thursday, the worst since February 12 (AQI 320).

The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution is likely to increase significantly. It was just 1% on Wednesday but rose to 18% on Friday and 19% on Saturday.

Winds blowing from the northwest during daytime are bringing pollution from farm fires. At night, calm winds and low temperatures are allowing the accumulation of pollutants, according to an India Meteorological Department official.

Punjab and Haryana have recorded more incidents of stubble burning this season so far compared to last year and it is largely due to early harvesting of paddy and unavailability of farm labour due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to officials.