Delhi’s air quality was on the brink of turning severe on Tuesday morning, as stubble burning in the neighboring states intensified, authorities said. According to data retracted from the Central Pollution Control Board, an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 348 was recorded which falls in the very poor category. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
While twenty-nine monitoring stations located in different parts of the city recorded very poor air quality, four stations recorded severe air quality, PTI reported.
The center-run System of Air Quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) attributed “heavy stubble burning in the last 24 hours and calm winds as the reason behind the further deterioration of air capital. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) also spotted a large number of biomass fire spots through satellite imageries in neighboring states of Delhi,” on Tuesday.
According to reports from SAFAR, about 28 percent of pollution by PM2.5 (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of fewer than 2.5 micrometers) on Tuesday was caused due to regional factors like stubble burning.
With stubble burning on the rise, there hasn’t been any check on the pollution caused by vehicles either. The other causes of pollution stay the same while new factors have been on the rise, without proper checks and control, It is no difficult a task to forecast the coming times.