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Delhi Pollution: Schools Remain Shut As AQI Levels Remain 'Very Poor;' May Slip To 'Severe'
The average atmospheric temperature in Delhi NCR has begun to drop as winter sets in. With drop in temperature, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi NCR is also suffering. AQI was recorded at 343 at 4 pm on Tuesday. 343 AQI indicates 'very poor' air quality with very little improvement as of Monday. However, officials state that AQI may slip to 'severe' again in the next 24 hours. This is due to the changes in wind patterns. As per reports from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 4 pm was 343, the previous day the AQI was 349 which is slightly higher than today. As of Tuesday, 39 monitoring stations in the capital recorded AQI at 'very poor' and not 'severe.' The AQI at around 6:30 am on Tuesday, November 26, stood at 396.
At 3 pm on Tuesday, the CPCB data indicated that PM2.5 was the primary pollutant, with levels of 143 g/m and PM10 at 325 g/m . PM2.5 pollutants are very fine particles of pollution which are the most harmful for health.
Among the 38 air quality-monitoring stations in Delhi, 18 of them reported an AQI of 400 at 6:30 am in the morning. The stations Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 432, Ashok Vihar recorded 420, Mundka recorded 443, Rohini recorded 432, and Vivek Vihar recorded 432. 400 and above AQI is considered as 'severe.'
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Residents of Delhi received a very short-lived relief from severe AQI on Monday when the air quality monitoring stations recorded an AQI below 300 mark on Monday morning. As per reports, the monitors showed some signs of green in Delhi. The Lodhi Road (IITM) monitoring station in Delhi recorded an AQI of 95 which comes under 'satisfactory' level and is much better than 'very poor' or 'poor.'
However, the air quality very quicky plummeted to very poor due to low winds. The AQI went from 218 at 9 am to 377 at 7 pm. Seven of the 38 air quality-monitoring stations in Delhi reported AQI levels in the "severe" category at 5:30 pm, with the number rising to 14 at 7 pm on Monday.
In light of deteriorating air quality in Delhi NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Monday announced that schools in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) will have the option of functioning in hybrid mode. Students can appear either in person or online depending on the feasibility. This announcement comes after the Supreme Court's advise of restarting physical classes for students. They stated that students in schools and colleges in NCR and adjoining regions are not able to avail mid-day meals and do not have the means to attend classes online.
Hybrid mode is important especially for children because they are at higher risks of health damage cause by PM2.5 pollutant. The PM2.5 pollutants pose very high health risks to everyone especially children. It can enter your body, bloodstream, lungs. They can penetrate very deep into your organs causing severe damage.
As per the Centre's Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management, almost 22.2 percent of Delhi's pollution is attributed to vehicular emissions. This report was issues based on the pollution recorded on Tuesday. There are however, other factors involved like, stubble burning which contributes almost 6.9 percent of the pollution that was recorded on Monday. The other factors are dust, construction, demotion, factory emissions, firecrackers, etc.