Delhi Air Quality update: Toxic smog envelops capital as 18 stations log AQI above…, air quality to plummet further due to…

Delhi Air Quality: A thick layer of toxic smog engulfed Delhi on Thursday as several places in the national capital saw the air quality slip into the ‘severe’ category, with as many as 18 monitoring stations logging AQI above the 400-mark.

Delhi air quality hovers near ‘severe’ mark

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) date, on Thursday, Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 391– in the ‘very poor’ category for the seventh consecutive day, while average AQI stood at 392 on Wednesday, 374 on Tuesday, and 351 on Monday.

Data from CPCB’s Sameer app revealed that 18 out of Delhi’s 38 monitoring stations recorded AQI levels above the 400 mark– in the ‘severe’ category, including Chandni Chowk, DTU, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Narela and Wazirpur.

As per the Decision Support System of the India(BHARAT)n Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, vehicular emissions was the major contributor to Delhi pollution on Thursday, accounting for 17.3 percent, while stubble burning accounted for 2.8 percent.

The system has projected these parameters to account for 16.2 percent and 1.8 percent of Delhi’s pollution on Friday, even as pollutants due to stubble burning saw a decline over the past few day. On Wednesday, satellite imagery detected 16 farm fires in Punjab, 11 in Haryana and 115 in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Why Delhi AQI is likely to slip further?

Notably, Delhi’s air quality to expected to deteriorate further in the coming days. According to Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi AQI is likely to slip into the ‘severe’ category in the coming days, and will remain in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ range for the next six days.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0–50 is ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’ and 401–500 ‘severe’.

Night temperature dips in Delhi as winter sets in

Meanwhile, on the weather front, winter has officially set in the capital city, with minimum temperature logged at 11.4 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees below normal, while the maximum settled at 28.2 degree celsius, 0.4 degrees above normal, according to the India(BHARAT) Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD has forecast moderate fog, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 27 and 12 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Friday.