NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality recorded "severe" levels on Saturday, a day before Diwali. A pall of smog was hanging over the city since morning.
As forecast by IMD and SAFAR, the wind speed was very low, touching zero at times, which caused pollutants to accumulate very close to the surface. The Delhi government, meanwhile, blamed the high pollution levels on the farm stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. On Saturday, it shared a NASA image from October 26 showing crop fires in these states.
"Agricultural fires in the fields of neighbouring states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, are a major contributor in the deterioration of ambient air quality, which will accentuate due to inversion and calm meteorological conditions currently prevailing," a Delhi government statement said. Environment minister Imran Hussain reiterated his appeal to the residents to stay away from crackers on Diwali. The government had seized illegally-imported crackers at Qutab Roa, Moti Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Patel Nagar recently.
This is the first time this season that the overall AQI (Air Quality Index) for the city recorded severe. A pollution emergency occurs when AQI is severe—even healthy people can be affected by such high levels of PM 2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles). It can seriously affect those with existing health conditions.
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