NEW DELHI: PM10 has been the lead pollutant for the past five days due to higher dust concentration in Delhi’s air and no rain. Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index was 134 in the ‘moderate’ category on Friday.
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System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) said on Thursday that the contribution of coarser particles in PM10 increased to around 65% as compared to the long-time normal of 50%.
Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR, said, “In the monsoon period, PM2.5, which are fine particles, mostly remain high. However, in August, it was found that PM10 was the main pollutant on most of the days, which is not common.”
He added the reason behind higher concentration of PM10 could be transportation of dust from arid region to Delhi and construction activity happening in and around the capital.
Central Pollution Control Board’s data shows that PM10 remained the major pollutant from August 23 to August 27. The city has not recorded any intense rain activity in the past few days.
Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre For Science and Environment, said, “Due to the washout effect of the rains, overall particulate pollution is normally lower during monsoon. However, the level of coarse particles can vary, especially during short dry spells when dust can become the lead pollutant. Persistent elevation and increase in its ratio can also indicate some dust event in the region.”
