THREE DAYS after Diwali, the capital’s air quality continued to be in the “severe” category despite experts predicting that it would improve to “very poor” by Wednesday.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), levels of Particulate Matter (PM) 10 levels breached the 500 mark in Delhi. With no wind to disperse pollutants, pollution remained trapped close to the ground.
According to officials, air quality is expected to remain ‘severe’, though below the 500 mark, on Thursday. The levels on Friday are expected to see a slight improvement, with PM 10 levels expected to drop closer to 400.
Anumita Roychowdhury from the Centre for Science and Environment attributed this to adverse weather conditions. “With no wind and calm weather, pollutants remain close to the ground. Pollution levels always increase with winter setting in. This, combined with the Diwali pollution hangover, increased vehicular traffic and burning of trash, leads to a rapid build up of pollutants causing the air quality to drop further,” she said.
