As winter chill in Delhi has begun to set in, the city is bracing for another seasonal surge in air pollution as the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday stood at 199, just a few notches away from the 'poor' category. While the city's low was 19.4 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches below normal, the maximum temperature settled at 30.3 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
It is generally around this time of the year when biggest celebration of Diwali fest begins, the air quality in Delhi thickens and turns visibly dark, loaded with visible pollutants. At 4 pm, Delhi's AQI was recorded in the "moderate" category at 199. An AQI between 201 to 300 falls under the "poor" category.The national capital last recorded a "poor" AQI in June, according to the data.
The AQI in Delhi is seemingly increasing by the day. On Saturday, October 11, the Air Quality Index (AQI) bordered on ‘poor’ as the reading jumped to 193. The Delhi AQI was 193 at 5 am on Saturday, as per the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi.
This was far higher than 129 recorded at 5:30 am on Friday and 91 recorded at the same time on Thursday.
According to data from the Decision Support System (DSS), the transport sector remained the biggest contributor to Delhi's pollution, accounting for 17.9 per cent of the total emissions.Meanwhile, satellite data detected stubble burning incidents on Saturday. Punjab reported 14 incidents, Haryana one, and the neighbouring UP-NCR region 42 incidents.
The IMD has forecast mainly clear skies for Sunday, with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to hover around 19 and 31 degrees Celsius, respectively.As per the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor" and 401 to 500 "severe".
Pertinently, Delhi government on Friday announced an innovation challenge to fight air pollution. The top reward for this contest is Rs 50 lakh and invites individuals, startups, researchers, and tech developers for practical and scalable solutions. Under the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) Innovation Challenge, the government is trying to tackle Delhi’s worsening air quality.
The focus will be on reducing particulate pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) in the city. On the move, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that clean air needs constant innovation. The winter season remains particularly concerning for Delhi when air pollution chokes the city for several days.
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