With at least six areas witnessing 'severe-plus or emergency' and 'severe' category air quality on Monday, the National Capital is set to inhale more toxins in the next three days due to unfavourable changes in weather conditions and the stubble burning that continues unabated in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) itself.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality index (AQI) across Delhi & NCR continued to be 'very poor,' with a higher concentration of pollutants even during the daytime.
The major pollutant PM2.5, or particles in the air with diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, had an average value of 216 units across Delhi & NCR, while it was 219 in Delhi alone at 2pm on Monday.
Anand Vihar in East Delhi, Delhi Technical University in North Delhi and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh had 'severe-plus or emergency' air quality, while Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi and R.K. Puram in South Delhi and Sector 25 in Uttar Pradesh's Noida had 'severe' air quality at 2pm.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), with no scope of improvement, the air quality in Delhi & NCR is set to deteriorate over the next three days.
With PM2.5 value ranging between 315 and 376 units at 2pm on Monday at all 10 monitoring stations of SAFAR across Delhi & NCR, the monitoring agency advised 'no outdoor physical activity and less indoor activities' for the sensitive groups and advised masks for everyone else.
The regions with high PM2.5 values include Dhirpur (319), Pitampura (353) and Delhi University (358) in North Delhi; Pusa (319) and Lodhi Road (315) in Central Delhi and Mathura Road (376) and Ayanagar (347) in South Delhi.
Meanwhile, at IGI Airport, PM2.5 was 354; at Gurugram in Haryana, it was 35 and at Noida, it was 323 units—all at least 12 to 13 times higher than the permissible limits.
The safe range for PM2.5 as per international standards was 25 microgrammes per cubic meters and 60 units as per national standards.
"Stop outdoor activity at early morning and after sunset times. Go for a short walk instead of a jog and take more breaks," said a SAFAR medical advisory meant for everyone.
"Stop any activity level if you experience any unusual coughing, chest discomfort, wheezing, breathing difficulty, or fatigue. Avoid burning of wood, candles or incense. Masks known as N-95 or P-100 respirators may only help if you go out."
Satellite images from NASA continued showing incidents of stubble burning in southern Delhi over the past week as well as across Punjab and Haryana.
According to weather analysts, while Delhi's wind directions have changed from northwesterly (coming from Punjab) into westerly, the air pollution will still increase over the next two days due to increase in moisture.
"By (November) 29, the winds will change again into high moisture southwesterly winds, which will form mist or haze in the region. With high humidity, (the) air's capacity to hold pollutants increases," said Mahesh Palwat, director of private weather forecasting agency Skymet.
