New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Delhi's air quality inched closer to the 'severe' category on Friday, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 382 in the 'very poor' category amid increasing pollution and a layer of smog enveloping the city, reducing visibility.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has imposed stage three emergency measures in Delhi-NCR under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to prevent further deterioration of the pollution situation.
Air quality in the national capital is predicted to turn 'severe' from Saturday, with Diwali celebrations, vehicular emissions and the peak stubble-burning season expected to add to the pollution burden.
Of the 58 air quality monitoring stations that recorded data on Friday, 26 recorded AQI in the 'severe' category, 31 in the 'very poor' category and only one, Lodhi Road, recorded 'poor' air quality.
The worst AQI was recorded at Punjabi Bagh at 453, followed by Jahangirpuri at 447 and Rohini at 444.
The city's average AQI deteriorated from 369 on Thursday to 382 on Friday, bringing it closer to the 'severe' threshold of 401. Several air quality monitoring stations have already breached this mark, indicating a further deterioration in air quality across the capital.
With Diwali approaching, social media users have also been flagging the deteriorating air quality, with several saying they could already "smell Diwali in the air".
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the air quality is likely to remain in the 'severe' category from November 7 to 9. The outlook for the subsequent six days indicates that the air quality is likely to fluctuate between the 'severe' and 'very poor' categories.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as 'good', 51 and 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 as 'moderate', 201 and 300 as 'poor', 301 and 400 as 'very poor', and 401 and 500 as 'severe'.
With the worsening pollution situation, the CAQM on Friday imposed GRAP stage three measures in Delhi-NCR.
GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold.
Under GRAP-3, strict restrictions are placed on dust-generating and air-pollution-causing construction and demolition activities in NCR.
Weather and air quality experts have attributed the anticipated deterioration in air quality to unfavourable meteorological conditions, the onset of Diwali-related celebrations, vehicular emissions and the ongoing peak period of stubble burning in neighbouring states.
They said pollution levels could worsen from Saturday as people tend to start bursting firecrackers in the days leading up to the festival. The seasonal increase in agricultural residue burning across North India is also expected to add to the existing pollution load.
Unfavourable meteorological conditions are further aggravating the situation. According to the Early Warning System, a ventilation index below 6,000 square metres per second, coupled with an average wind speed of less than 10 kilometres per hour, is unfavourable for the effective dispersion of pollutants.
PM2.5 was the predominant pollutant in the national capital on Friday. Fine particulate matter, which can penetrate deep into the respiratory system, remains a major concern amid the deteriorating air quality.
According to the Decision Support System for Delhi, the transport sector was the largest polluter in the city on Friday, accounting for 17.9 per cent, followed by stubble burning at 13 per cent.
Among Delhi's local emission sources, energy production contributed 1.4 per cent, peripheral industries 3.6 per cent, waste burning 1.7 per cent, construction 2.7 per cent, road dust 1.3 per cent, residential sources 4.4 per cent and other sectors 1.2 per cent.
Among neighbouring districts, Karnal contributed 0.9 per cent to the pollution, Jhajjar 5 per cent, Rohtak 3.6 per cent, Sonipat 7.3 per cent and Panipat 2 per cent. Among other NCR areas, Bahadurgarh contributed 0.6 per cent, Gurugram 1.2 per cent and Jhajjar 0.2 per cent, according to the DSS estimates.
Stubble burning also continued to contribute significantly to Delhi's pollution. Satellite data showed 837 residue-burning incidents across six states on Thursday.
Of these, 414 incidents were reported in Punjab, 18 in Haryana, 64 in Uttar Pradesh, 19 in Rajasthan, nine in Uttarakhand and 216 in Madhya Pradesh.
As many as 5,637 farm-fire incidents were detected across the six states between September 15 and November 5. These included 2,787 incidents in Punjab, 80 in Haryana, 456 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,039 in Rajasthan, 192 in Uttarakhand and 1,081 in Madhya Pradesh. Delhi recorded two incidents during the period.
The data was provided by the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from the Space Laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in its bulletin.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)