New Delhi: With the wind speed predicted to slow down, Delhi’s air quality is likely to deteriorate to ‘very poor’ category on Friday. The air quality index was in the lower end of ‘poor’ category at 213 on Thursday. The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 was 2%.
According to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the air quality is likely to deteriorate and reach the lower end of ‘very poor’ category on Friday. It may remain in the upper-end of ‘poor’ category on Saturday and Sunday. “Calm wind condition during night hours is likely to cause accumulation of pollutants, leading to deterioration of air quality on Friday. However, air quality may show slight improvement on Saturday,” said an official.
According to Indian Agricultural Research Institute, satellites detected 66 paddy residue burning events in Punjab, 32 in Haryana and 195 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, the forecasting body under the union ministry of earth sciences, said, “Pollutants emitted from stubble burning contribute 2% to PM2.5 in Delhi. Fine particles (size above 2.5 micrometres) contribute 51% to PM10. Local surface winds being moderate (12-16 km/h) cause moderate dispersion, while drop in minimum temperature helps accumulation of pollutants. Moderate ‘mixing layer height’ during daytime (1.0 – 1.5 km) enhances vertical mixing.”
Meanwhile, the night temperature was recorded at 8.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, at Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station. However, at 8.2 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road was the coldest station on Thursday. The maximum temperature at Safdarjung was reported at 27.4 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.
The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 27 and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Friday. The city recorded the lowest minimum temperature of the season at 8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
