Delhi records 'very poor' AQI; high temperature, winds help disperse pollutants

The air quality in Delhi remained in the very poor category on Friday despite the extensive bursting of firecrackers during Diwali celebrations the day before news agency PTI reported This was attributed to abovenormal temperatures and favourable winds that aided in dispersing pollutants A thick layer of haze blanketed the national capital with the Air Quality Index AQI recorded at 362 at 9 am as many defied a citywide ban on firecrackersHowever conditions improved and by 4 pm the citys 24hour average AQI had dropped to 339 according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board CPCB The capital also experienced a rise in noise pollution levels between 6 pm and midnight on Diwali as reported by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCCAccording to PTI it was initially expected that Delhis air quality would deteriorate into the severe category owing to the firecracker usage but it remained classified as very poor Environmentalist Vimalendu Jha noted Despite the ban firecrackers were burst in DelhiNCR National Capital Region However the air quality did not reach the severe category as the winds helped improve the situation He cautioned that pollution levels might rise in the coming days owing to unfavourable weather conditionsOn Friday the maximum temperature reached 336 degrees Celsius three degrees above normal while the minimum temperature settled at 184 degrees Celsius 23 degrees above normal Of the 40 weathermonitoring stations in the city 32 recorded very poor air qualityAreas such as Alipur 335 Anand Vihar 385 Ashok Vihar 365 and others reported very poor air quality according to the Sameer app which provides hourly updates on the National AQI published by the CPCBAn 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 401 to 450 severe and above 450 severe plus The DPCC reported that the AQI did not show significant changes despite many people flouting antipollution norms The 24hour average AQI rose from 328 on Thursday to 360 on Friday morning reported PTIDelhi Fire Services received more than 300 calls highest in 13 yearsThe report indicated that PM25 levels decreased by 4 per cent compared to last years Diwali while PM10 levels increased by 11 per cent PM25 refers to fine inhalable particles with a diameter of 25 micrometres or smaller which are hazardous to health The acceptable annual standard for PM25 is 40 micrograms per cubic metreThe Delhi Fire Services DFS reported a surge in firerelated incidents on Diwali with more than 300 calls mdash the highest in 13 years mdash attributed to the extensive use of firecrackers Hospitals in Delhi treated more than 280 cases of burn injuries primarily caused by firecrackers on Diwali The Safdarjung Hospital recorded the highest number of cases with 117 on Thursday followed by All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS with 48 and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital LNJP Hospital with 19Of the burn patients 102 suffered minor injuries and were treated as outpatients while 15 with more severe burns were admitted Experts noted that gaps in enforcement limited monitoring and easy access to firecrackers in areas where restrictions were lax contributed to the widespread flouting of the firecracker banDespite the establishment of 377 enforcement teams by the Delhi government to ensure compliance with the ban many neighbourhoods across the eastern and western parts of the city reported largescale violations Rajiv Kakria convenor of Save Our City SOC commented on the challenges posed by porous DelhiNCR borders which make it easy for residents to obtain firecrackers from nearby areasHowever as the air quality remained in the very poor category Environment Minister Gopal Rai expressed gratitude to Delhi residents for largely refraining from bursting firecrackers on Diwali stating Thanks to the responsible actions of many residents who avoided using firecrackers we managed to avoid a severe AQI readingMahesh Palawat vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet noted This year pollution levels were not as high as anticipated We expected the air quality to fall into the severe category but winds from the northwest helped disperse pollutants effectivelyWith PTI inputs