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Delhi's air worsens to AQI 230 as Pusa turns 'very poor', no relief seen for nine days
The day's average rose from 223 on Thursday, with Manesar the most polluted town in the country. Slow winds and a dry weekend mean the haze is likely to stay.
Key points
- Delhi's 24-hour average AQI rose to 230 on Friday, up from 223 a day earlier.
- Three stations were 'very poor', with Pusa at 324 the worst in the city.
- Forecasters expect 'poor' air through 26 October and similar levels for six days after.
Delhi’s air turned a shade worse on Friday. The city’s average air quality index for the 24 hours to 4 pm stood at 230, up from 223 on Thursday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin. It was the third ‘poor’ day in a row.
The morning had offered a brief hint of improvement, with the index at 223 at 8 am. Of the 56 stations reporting on the CPCB’s Sameer app, three had slipped into ‘very poor’. Pusa was the worst at 324. Thirty-six stations were ‘poor’ and 17 ‘moderate’.
Worse outside the city
Delhi was not the most polluted place in the region. Manesar in Haryana topped the national list at 289, followed by Greater Noida and Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, both at 284. Meerut was at 274 and Gajraula at 272. Gurugram recorded 215 and Noida 205.
Across the country, 124 of the 252 cities in the bulletin had ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ air, almost the same share as on Thursday.
Why the haze is staying
The Air Quality Early Warning System expects the air to stay ‘poor’ from 23 to 26 October and to hover at similar levels for six days after that, which would mean no real relief for about nine days. Forecasters said a ventilation index below 6,000 square metres per second, with average wind speeds under 10 km/h, was stopping pollutants from dispersing.
Vehicles remain the biggest local source. The Decision Support System run by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune put transport’s share of Delhi’s PM2.5 at 20.3% on Friday. Stubble burning in neighbouring states contributed 5.1%, a little more than earlier in the week. Among nearby districts, Gurugram added 8.8%, Jhajjar 6.1% and Gautam Buddha Nagar 4.7%.
Weekend weather
Safdarjung, the city’s base weather station, recorded a high of 32.2°C and a low of 19°C on Friday. The India Meteorological Department expects partly cloudy skies on Saturday, with a maximum of about 33°C and a minimum of 19°C.
A western disturbance is expected to reach northwest India from Saturday but is not likely to bring much change to Delhi-NCR, and the weekend is forecast to stay mostly dry. A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal, which could become a cyclonic storm by 26 October, is not expected to affect the capital.
Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan has been in force across Delhi-NCR since 21 October, with curbs on construction dust, mechanised road cleaning and action against open waste burning. Traffic police are tightening checks at the borders to stop polluting inter-state buses before they enter the city.