New Delhi: Delhiites on Thursday inhaled the most polluted Oct air in three years. The AQI deteriorated to 373 on the higher end of the very poor category as a toxic haze hung over the city. It was recorded at 279 (poor) a day earlier.The highest AQI recorded in Oct 2022 was 397, 350 the same month next year and 364 in 2024, according to data from CPCB. Of the 39 active stations in Delhi, eight were in the ‘severe’ bracket (AQI above 400), while six were in the near-severe zone (above 390) throughout Thursday. Meteorological conditions, including calm winds, temperature inversion and low-to-medium clouds that blocked sunlight, led to worsening of the air, experts said. The AQI is likely to stay in the very poor bracket for the next few days, according to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.“Winds turned calm overnight, leading to the accumulation of pollutants. Light winds with speeds of 4-5 kmph during the day didn’t help much. The speed then dropped to nil for a few hours, complicating the situation,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, Skymet Meteorology. Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst of think tank EnviroCatalysts, said, “Decreasing wind speed and overcast conditions are stagnating pollutants, which, on the base of high emission load in Delhi-NCR, are leading to increasing pollution levels.”According to Decision Support System (DSS) that estimates the contribution of various sources of pollution to Delhi’s PM2.5 levels, the share of stubble burning was just 2.6% on Thursday. The biggest contributor was ‘sources unaccounted for’ outside Delhi (26.28%), followed by 14.2% from the city’s transport sector. Around 12% emanated from Ghaziabad. Some parts of Delhi-NCR experienced a drizzle on Thursday, but rain is unlikely on Friday. Light winds are likely to prevail for the next two to three days. MSID:: 124959658 413 |