Delhi Pollution: Pollution continues to wreak havoc in Delhi

Delhi Pollution: Pollution continues to wreak havoc in Delhi; AQI 'very poor' for the fifth day, temperature also drops drastically

Delhi's air remained in the very poor category for the fifth consecutive day. During this time, the city recorded the coldest night of this season. The minimum temperature dropped to 10.1 degrees Celsius. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 325 at 4 pm, which is slightly higher than 303 recorded on Wednesday.

PTI New Delhi: Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday even as the city recorded its coldest night of the season. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature on Thursday dropped to 10.1 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of the year. The second coldest night of the season was recorded on November 21, when the temperature settled at 10.2 degrees Celsius, while the third coldest night was recorded on Wednesday (November 27), when the night temperature dropped to 10.4 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 325 at 4 pm, slightly higher than 303 recorded on Wednesday. None of the 39 monitoring stations in the capital recorded air quality in the 'severe' category, and the same trend continued on Tuesday and Wednesday.

AQI above 450 is in 'severe plus' 

The AQI had peaked at 419 on November 20, followed by 371 on November 21, 393 on November 22 (Friday), 412 on November 23 (Saturday) and 318 on November 24 (Sunday). An AQI between 301 and 400 is characterised as 'very poor', while anything above 400 is considered 'severe'. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', 401-450 'severe' and above 450 is considered 'severe plus'.

Vehicles contribute 21 percent to Delhi's pollution

Levels of primary pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 also remained high. PM 2.5 was recorded at 150 on Thursday and PM 10 at 2 pm on Tuesday at 261. These fine particles pose a huge health hazard as they can penetrate deep into the lungs. The Centre's Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management estimated that vehicular emissions contributed 21.6 per cent to Delhi's pollution on Thursday. On Tuesday, stubble burning contributed 5.8 per cent to pollution. But no data was made available for Wednesday.

Seven incidents in Haryana and 103 in Uttar Pradesh

On Thursday, 34 incidents of stubble burning were reported in Punjab, seven in Haryana and 103 in Uttar Pradesh. According to satellite data, between September 15 and November 28, 10,855 incidents of stubble burning were recorded in Punjab, 1,380 in Haryana and 5,554 in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the dominant surface wind by evening was coming from variable directions with speed less than 6 kmph, which further decreased to less than 4 kmph from the north. Smog or light fog is likely during the evening and night on Thursday.