Due to increasing cold and slow wind speed in the capital Delhi, the level of pollution continues to remain in a dangerous situation. On Sunday too, the air quality index (AQI) of the city was recorded close to the ‘severe’ category. Experts say that no major change is visible in the weather conditions in the coming days, due to which there is very little hope of improvement in AQI.

Air quality at ‘severe’ level

Till 4 pm on Sunday, the 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 391, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the same figure was 370 on Saturday and 364 on Friday. It is noteworthy that since November 6, the capital has remained in the ‘very poor’ category for almost 18 days. During the same period, air quality had reached ‘severe’ level for three days between 11 and 13 November. In the last two years, Delhi has not received even a single ‘good’ air day.

According to AQI standards, air up to 50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’ and above 400 ‘severe’. The current situation of Delhi makes it clear to what level pollution has increased.

There is dense fog in many areas of the city, due to which visibility is being affected. Due to this, complaints of eye irritation, difficulty in breathing and lung problems have increased rapidly among the people. According to data released at 4 pm, out of 39 monitoring centers in Delhi, 19 were in ‘critical’ and 20 in ‘very poor’ condition. Wazirpur remained the most polluted area with AQI of 464, while Vivek Vihar
(458) and Rohini (457) were also included in the serious category.

What does the meteorologist say?

Meteorologists say that calm surface winds and long cold nights stabilize pollutants in the air, reducing their spread. If the wind speed reaches 15–20 km per hour, the pollutants may reduce, but this is not expected at present. The wind is likely to blow at a speed of about 5–10 km per hour during night and morning.

The minimum temperature on Sunday was 10.4 degrees Celsius, which was one degree below normal, while the maximum temperature was 26.7 degrees. According to IMD estimates, the minimum temperature on Monday can be between 9-11 degrees, while on Tuesday and Wednesday it can be between 8-10 degrees. The maximum temperature is expected to be between 24–26 degrees in the next two days.