NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that Delhi’s air quality could deteriorate by next month due to stubble burning. Neighbouring state governments have not taken any action so far to support the farmers, he claimed.
Kejriwal said, on its own, Delhi’s air was clean and the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday was just 69, which falls into the ‘satisfactory’ category.
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“Delhi’s air quality will deteriorate from mid-October (due to stubble burning). State governments have not taken any action to support their farmers. On its own, Delhi’s air is clean. On September 18, 2021, the AQI for Delhi is 69 (0 to 50 – Good, 51 to 100 – Satisfactory),” Kejriwal tweeted.
The PM 10 concentration was 67 micrograms per cubic metre and the PM 2.5 concentration was 27 micrograms per cubic metre, he added. The 24-hour standards for PM 10 and PM 2.5 are 100 and 60 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
Delhi generally starts recording a spike in pollution with a drop in temperature, aided by stubble burning that picks up pace from the second week of October onwards.
As the wind direction changes, pollutants are blown towards Delhi and studies have shown that the contribution to stubble burning in Delhi’s overall PM 2.5 concentration can go up to 44 per cent in a single day.
Punjab recorded the most fire counts last year since 2016.
