Air pollution levels expected to rise again in Delhi and surrounding regions. Photo: Times Now
New Delhi, India (BBN) - The national capital since last week has witnessed a sharp drop in temperature in the wake of the winter season, but unfortunately, the city's air pollution levels continue to rise.
It has been learnt that the air quality in Delhi continues to linger in the 'very poor' category, with prominent pollutants remained above normal standards at most locations on Sunday, reports Times Now.
The information was shared by the Delhi Traffic Police Twitter team.
It must be noted that the Air Quality Index in the national capital had improved significantly after the AAP government imposed certain measures to curb the emergency situation declared by the Indian Medical Association earlier.
However, the pollution levels are slowly rising again, in line with the predictions shared by the weather department on November 30.
While the rise in PM2.5 and PM10 levels were again observed on the last days of November, it again started to ascend rapidly starting December.
On December 1, the concentration of suspended particulate matter PM10 climbed to 412 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) during the day. PM2.5 was recorded at 200 ug/m3.
The last time the level of PM10 was this high was on November 14, when Delhi had just come out of a week-long spell of emergency levels of pollution.
The 24-hour safe averages of these ultrafine particulates are 60 (PM2.5) and 100 (PM10).
The CPCB attributed the rise in the air pollution level to calm conditions marked by a fall in wind speed and the incursion of moisture in the air, conditions which favour accumulation of particulates.
The air quality index (AQI) of CPCB for Delhi was in the 'very poor' category with a score of 343 on a scale of 500.
The Centre-run pollution monitoring and forecasting agency SAFAR predicted that concentration of PM2.5, more harmful owing to its extremely tiny size, and PM10 may rise over the weekend.
However, weather scientists have emphasised that the city is not likely to witness another emergency spell of pollution in the near future as external factors such as stubble burning are hardly playing a role anymore.
A "very poor" AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illness on prolonged exposure to such air. On further dip in air quality, the AQI will turn "severe" and "emergency" when it goes off-scale.
BBN/MMI/ANS