NEW DELHI: Delhi on Tuesday faced a resurgence of air pollution nearing the "severe" category due to adverse meteorological conditions, with little relief in sight.
The capital's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 4 pm rose to 397, worsening from 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday. Several areas within the city, including ITO, RK Puram, Punjabi Bagh, Nehru Nagar, and Anand Vihar, recorded severe pollution levels (AQI above 400).
Neighboring regions like Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Noida, and Faridabad also reported very poor air quality. Despite recent rainfall, Delhi experienced a surge in pollution levels on Monday, accompanied by a smoky haze, as people disregarded the ban on firecrackers during Diwali.
According to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, Delhi ranked as the most polluted city globally on Tuesday, followed by Dhaka, Lahore, and Mumbai.
While Delhi had recorded its best air quality in eight years on Diwali day, the subsequent increase in pollution levels was attributed to firecracker bursting and agricultural fires. The Commission for Air Quality Management noted that fireworks were the predominant cause of the post-Diwali pollution spike.
The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi's air pollution was estimated at 12 percent on Tuesday, with projections of 14 percent on Wednesday and 6 percent on Thursday, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Stringent measures, including a ban on construction work and the entry of polluting trucks, will persist in Delhi under the final stage of the central government's air pollution control plan, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Authorities will continue monitoring the situation and take necessary actions based on the evolving conditions.
(With agency inputs)
