Delhi suffocates as air pollution reaches dangerously high levels due to dense smog, AQI stands at 461

Delhi suffocates as air pollution reaches dangerously high levels due to dense smog, AQI stands at 461

By Administrator_India

Capital Sands

New Delhi: The air pollution levels in the national capital have reached dangerously high levels thanks to calm surface winds and low ventilation conditions. On Friday morning, the air quality in Delhi reached ‘severe’ category with the AQI touching 461, according to the latest estimates updated by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). PM2.5 remains the lead pollutant instead of PM10 as a characteristic of wintertime.

‘Severe’ air in Delhi

According to SAFAR estimates updated at 6 am, several areas in the national capital including Delhi University, Pusa Road, Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, IIT-Delhi and Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal-3) recorded air quality in the severe category with an AQI of 420, 430, 424, 521, 416, 424 respectively.

However, air quality was slightly improved in Ayanagar in Delhi with an AQI of 384 in ‘very poor’ category. According to SAFAR, AQI between the range of 51 and 100 is considered as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘very good’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 falls under the category of ‘poor’. While 300-400 is considered as ‘very poor’, levels between 401-500 fall under the ‘hazardous’ category.

SAFAR prediction

“Surface winds are calm and the minimum temperature is likely to fall further. The AQI is forecast to deteriorate rapidly in next 3 days. SAFAR forecast reveals that AQI will be in the higher end of very poor to severe category on Friday and then will enter in severe category for 16-17 January. This is likely to be the first extended extreme air pollution event for 2021. The combination of dense fog formation leading to secondary particulate formation under congenial conditions of high humidity, extremely low ventilation and shallow boundary layer height is a major reason for the predicted smog episode,” said SAFAR prediction.

Air quality in NCR

The air quality in the NCR was no different from the rest of Delhi. On Friday morning, Gurugram and Noida registered air quality in the ‘very poor’ and severe category with an AQI of 384 and 416 respectively.

Related Posts
IMD Issues Yellow Alert for Dense Fog in Odisha, Night Temperatures Set to Rise

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for dense fog in various districts of Odisha. This comes Read more

Lijjat Papad: A Home-Made Snack Revolution Empowering 45,000 Indian Women

A group of women entrepreneurs has turned a humble Indian snack into a symbol of female empowerment and financial independence. Read more

5 Top Stocks to Watch in India’s Booming Data Center Market

India's data center market is experiencing an unprecedented expansion, driven by the growth of the digital economy, the increasing adoption Read more

BJD’s Campaign Gaps, BJP Criticism, and Future Vision: Naveen Patnaik Highlights Key Issues

Naveen Patnaik admitted the BJD’s failure to counter BJP’s misinformation during the Odisha polls while reaffirming the party's commitment to Read more

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x