Delhi Air Quality Remains In ‘Severe’ Category, Experts Say Local Factors Play Bigger Role Than Stubble Burning

Delhi Air Quality Remains In 'Severe' Category, Experts Say Local Factors Play Bigger Role Than Stubble Burning

New Delhi: Despite several measures being implemented by the Kejriwal government, the air quality in the national capital remained in the severe category on Wednesday with the AQI standing at 452 in Anand Vihar. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the air quality across Delhi continues to be in the ‘Severe’ category.

AQI in Anand Vihar stood at 452, in RK Puram at 433, in Punjabi Bagh at 460 and in ITO at 413, according to latest updates from the the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

The air quality in Delhi on Tuesday evening dipped to ‘very poor’ category with an overall Air Quality Index staying at 356, according to data from SAFAR.

Air quality across Delhi continues to be in the 'Severe' category as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

AQI in Anand Vihar at 452, in RK Puram at 433, in Punjabi Bagh at 460 and in ITO at 413 pic.twitter.com/XkMRkt65sj

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2023

In the national capital, the Anand Vihar station remained in the ‘severe’ category with PM 10 at 416 while PM 2.5 witnessed slight improvement after it reached 395, in a very poor category. The NO2 at 113, under ‘moderate’ category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

#WATCH | Delhi air quality continues to remain in the 'severe' category as per the Central Pollution Control Board.

(Visuals from Anand Vihar, shot at 6:18 a.m.) pic.twitter.com/KxrExoTLvr

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2023

The AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’; 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’; 101 and 200 ‘moderate’; 201 and 300 ‘poor’; 301 and 400 ‘very poor’; and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

At Delhi Technical University station, the PM 2.5 reached 317 under ‘very poor’ category while PM 10 was at 410 under ‘severe’ category.

However, experts said stubble burning alone could not be blamed for the air pollution as local factors, including vehicle emissions, have already poisoned the city’s skyline, a latest report on Delhi’s toxic air quality has pointed out.

Speaking to NDTV, Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of Centre for Science and Environment, said the latest report has found that PM2.5 levels in Delhi-NCR rose by a “staggering and unprecedented” 68 per cent within just 24 hours on November 2.

The rise in PM2.5 levels was recorded at a time when the contribution of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 levels is gradually declining.

As per the data from the SAFAR and Decision Support System For Air Quality Management, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration over the past few days has been in the 25-35 per cent range — lower than previous years.

Anumita Roychowdhury further added that the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration is around 25 per cent, which is lower than previous years.

She said the internal sources of pollution in Delhi have increased and in the internal sources of pollution, the vehicles contribute up to 50 per cent to 60 per cent to Delhi’s pollution levels.