The air quality in Delhi slipped into the “poor” category on Thursday morning. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 256, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India). Water was sprinkled through an anti-smog gun in Anand Vihar area to mitigate pollution, as the air quality deteriorated.
Meanwhile, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Gurugram stood at 176, in the “moderate” category. According to the AQI scale, the air quality checks between 0 and 50 are considered “good”, 51 and 100 are “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 are “moderate”, 201 and 300 are “poor”, 301 and 400 are “very poor”, and 401 and 450 are “severe” and “severe” when AQI exceeds 450.
Delhi’s air quality turned “very poor” on Sunday for the first time since May, mainly due to a drop in temperature and wind speed, which allowed pollutants to accumulate.
In view of plummeting air quality in the national capital, the Delhi government will launch its “Red Light On, Gaadi Off” campaign on Thursday. The campaign aims to reduce air pollution in the city by encouraging people to turn off their engines when waiting at red lights. Delhi had last month also announced a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and use of firecrackers within the city. A public awareness campaign, “Patakhe Nahi Diye Jalao”, will soon be reintroduced to discourage the burning of firecrackers.
Delhi’s air quality on Dussehra this year was worse compared to the previous two years, primarily due to the festival falling at the end of October, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The analysis revealed that the average PM2.5 concentration in Delhi on Dussehra, which was celebrated on Tuesday, stood at 101 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to 89 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022 and 93 micrograms per cubic metre in 2021.
Dussehra was celebrated on 5 October in 2022 and on 15 October in 2021. Several incidents of firecracker burning were reported in parts of Delhi on Tuesday. One of the primary factors responsible for Delhi’s worse air quality on Dussehra this year is the festival’s late timing in October when meteorological conditions favour pollution build-up, said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at CREA. Unfavourable meteorological conditions and a combination of emissions from firecrackers, paddy straw burning and local sources of pollution contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR around Diwali every year.
