The national capital on Thursday remained shrouded in a thick sheet of smog as the air quality plummeted to the ‘very poor’ category.
As per the latest bulletin of the central pollution control board (CPCB), Delhi’s average AQI was recorded at at 373.
The pollution levels fell to ‘very poor’ category two days after Delhi’s cloud seeding trials of the season, which slightly improved the city’s air quality.
The overall 24-hour average AQI of the city stood at 373 at 4 pm on Thursday, in comparison to 279 on Tuesday, which was under ‘poor’ category.
According to data sourced from central pollution control board (CPCB), the AQI at Delhi’s Vivek Vihar stood at a whopping high of 421, followed by Wazirpur at 419, Rohini at 417, Ashok Vihar and Bawana at 416, Jahangirpuri at 412, Sonia Vihar at 410, and Anand Vihar at 408.
Sri Aurobindo Marg recorded the lowest score on the AQI scale at 277, under the ‘poor’ category.
Post-Diwali celebrations, the city has been experiencing ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories in several areas, even as Stage 2 of the graded response action plan (GRAP) remains in effect. Truck-mounted water sprinklers have been deployed across the city to combat air pollution, HT reported earlier.
Cloud seeding attempts over the national capital
Although Delhi government collaborated with IIT Kanpur and conducted two cloud seeding attempts in Delhi on Tuesday, results did not reflect as the moisture content predicted by IMD was low, at around 10-15 per cent, which is not ideal for cloud seeding.
The cloud seeding attempt for Wednesday was postponed due to a lack of enough moisture in the clouds.
In an official statement, IIT Kanpur said that the process is highly dependent on the right atmospheric conditions. The institute also said that while favourable results were not produced, cloud seeding led to a measurable reduction of major pollutants such as PM2.5 and PM10, which largely comprise vehicle and industrial emissions.
According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and AQI score between 0-50 is considered ‘Good’ and has minimal impact, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’ and causes minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people, 100-200 is ‘moderate’ and causes breathing discomfort to people with diseases in their lungs, asthma or heart diseases, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, and 401-500 is ‘severe’ which affects healthy people and impacts those with existing diseases.
Delhi takes action to curb pollution levels
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Wednesday announced doubling of parking fees across the national capital after the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II was invoked due to deteriorating air quality.
The commission for air quality management (CAQM) prohibited the entry of commercial goods vehicles registered outside the national capital that remain non-compliant with BS-VI emission standards from November 1.
As per the notification, non-BS VI-compliant commercial goods vehicles are allowed to enter the city until October 31, 2026.