Delhi's air-quality may slip from 'very poor' to 'severe' today
The air quality in Delhi, which was marked as 'very poor' on Thursday, will follow a downward trend, and may slip into the dreaded 'severe' category by Friday. In fact, the air quality monitoring systems in several areas of the capital city such as Dwarka, Rohini, Bawana, Anand Vihar, and Nehru Nagar, had already recorded figures under the 'severe' zone, on Thursday evening.
However, experts said stubble burning was negligible on Thursday
However, it should be noted that the contribution of crop stubble burning toward rising pollution levels was negligible on Thursday, and is expected to reduce further on Friday, experts said. Meanwhile, the scientists at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the wind speed would remain less until Friday afternoon, which will further deteriorate the air quality.
There was an accumulation of pollutants from local sources: SAFAR
"There was an accumulation of pollution from local sources. This means that because of low wind speed, the outlet of pollutants was not as fast as the inlet, thus the equilibrium was not maintained," a scientist at SAFAR said.
Meanwhile, air quality is expected to improve over the weekend
Now, in what may come as a sigh of relief, air quality is expected to improve from Saturday. A western disturbance, that has started approaching Delhi, will help disperse pollutants over the coming weekend. Further, there is a forecast of light showers on Tuesday. "On Tuesday, the winds will also be stronger and pollution will be comparatively lower," an IMD official said.
Earlier, Kejriwal said there's no need to re-introduce odd-even scheme
Ironically, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that skies have cleared up, and that there's no need to re-introduce the odd-even rationing scheme, that was implemented in the capital from November 4-15, to curb pollution. To recall, earlier this month, a Public Health Emergency was declared, and schools were ordered to remain shut.
Follow these tips to stay safe from effects of pollution
As breathing becomes difficult in Delhi, follow these tips to stay safe: 1) Stay indoors as much as possible. 2) If you must go out, use an anti-pollution mask every time. 3) Install a good-quality air purifier at your home. 4) Stay hydrated. Drink 8-12 glasses of water everyday. 5) Eat a healthy, immunity-boosting diet. Avoid junk food. 6) Quit smoking.
