Delhi’s Air Pollution still remains at its worst, likely to enter ‘Emergency’ zone today

A dip in wind speed and the temperature has brought back pollutants in Delhi air on Tuesday and the situation may enter ‘Emergency Zone’ today, said System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the government’s air quality monitor.

On Tuesday, a minimum temperature of 11.7-degree Celsius was recorded. The AQI reading in Greater Noida, Faridabad, Noida hovered in the ‘severe’ zone even at 6 am.

According to the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB), Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) read 425 at 4 pm and 437 at 9 pm on Tuesday. It was 360 at 4 pm on Monday.

The spike in the pollution level coincided with no odd-even in Delhi on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

From Wednesday, the odd-even comes back to the city after a short break with intensified checks. According to SAFAR, the share of stubble burning accounted for 25% of Delhi’s pollution on Tuesday, up from 18 on Monday.

“No sudden recovery is expected at least for the next two days and the AQI is likely to deteriorate further towards severe-plus category by tomorrow. The condition may slightly improve by November 15,” it said in a report.