Delhi Air Pollution: After almost two weeks of dangerously poor air quality, Delhi's air saw a brief improvement on Wednesday, with the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) dropping to the 'poor' category at 271, thanks to stronger winds. However, experts warn that conditions are likely to deteriorate once again in the coming days. The AQI for the city over a 24-hour period stood at 271 on Wednesday, a marked improvement from the previous day's 'severe' reading of 412 at 4 pm, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The shift to the 'poor' category, however, remains a temporary respite, as weather patterns suggest that air quality will likely worsen in the near future.
In response to the improved conditions, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) lifted the curbs imposed under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-IV, which had been activated on December 13 when the AQI had breached the alarming 450 mark. Officials confirmed the revocation of these measures, though they assured that actions under GRAP's lower stages would remain in effect to ensure further deterioration is avoided.
"Construction and demolition sites that had been shut due to violations of environmental regulations will not be allowed to resume operations unless explicitly cleared by the Commission," officials stated. This action forms part of broader efforts to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR and surrounding regions.
Delhi's air quality had remained in the 'very poor' and 'severe' zones for several days before Wednesday’s improvement. The last time the city’s air quality fell under the 'poor' category was on December 10.
The CPCB's monitoring stations across the city show varied readings. Of the 40 active air quality stations, four recorded 'moderate' AQI levels below 200 including areas like Lodhi Road, IIT Delhi, IGI Airport, and Aya Nagar. Meanwhile, 33 stations fell under the 'poor' category. Only two stations, Nehru Nagar and Dwarka, recorded 'very poor' AQI levels exceeding 300.
The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 as 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor' and 401 and 500 'severe'.
Meanwhile, vehicular emissions were found to be the largest contributor to Delhi’s pollution levels on Wednesday, responsible for 17.5 per cent of the total air pollution, as per the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management.
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Among the NCR districts, Jhajjar in Haryana contributed the highest share to pollution at 12 per cent, followed by Sonipat (6.5 per cent) and Rohtak (5.4 per cent) in Haryana and Ghaziabad (2.7 per cent) in Uttar Pradesh, the data showed.
Despite the short-term improvement, the Air Quality Early Warning System predicts that Delhi's air quality will likely return to the 'very poor' zone within the next six days.
On the weather front, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 22.7 degrees C on Wednesday, which was two degrees above the average for this time of year, while the minimum temperature was 10.2 degrees C, 2.7 degrees C above normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts a chilly Christmas Day with a minimum temperature of 6 degrees C and a maximum of 22 degrees C. Fog is expected in the morning, followed by clear skies later in the day.