The problem of pollution is deepening in the national capital Delhi. On Wednesday i.e. 4th November, Delhi's air remained in very poor category for the third consecutive day. The city's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 605 in the morning. A thick blanket of smog covered entire Delhi. The situation is so worrying that even breathing is becoming difficult in many parts of the city.
Out of total 59 monitoring stations in Delhi, air was found at 'severe' level at 20 places. In areas like Punjabi Bagh and Jahangirpuri, AQI reached 447. Apart from this, AQI near Mundka and IIT Delhi was also recorded at 436 and 438 respectively. The air was in 'very poor' category at 33 stations and 'poor' at the rest. Stage II of GRAP has been implemented in Delhi on November 2 itself after the increase in pollution.
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Main reasons for bad air
According to the data of Decision Support System (DSS), the smoke emitted from vehicles has the biggest role in making Delhi's air poisonous. Its share in total pollution has been recorded at 15.8%. Next comes smoke from stubble, which is the second largest cause with 15.3% contribution.
Other sources include smoke from homes (3.9%), industry (3%), construction work (2.2%), garbage burning (1.4%), energy production and road dust (1.2%–1.2%).
Condition of stubble in neighboring states
According to the data, 219 incidents of stubble burning were recorded in six states on November 2. Of these, the maximum number of 98 cases were reported in Punjab. This was followed by Rajasthan (67) and Madhya Pradesh (48). Uttar Pradesh saw 4 cases and Haryana saw 2 cases while Delhi and Uttarakhand did not report a single case that day.
If we talk about the period from September 15 to November 2, a total of 3,535 cases of stubble burning have been registered in these states. Of these, 1,612 incidents are from Punjab alone. So far this season, only 2 incidents of stubble burning have been recorded in Delhi.
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How will the wind be in future?
The Air Quality Early Warning System estimates that there will be no significant improvement in the air of Delhi till at least Friday i.e. 6th November. It will remain in the 'very bad' category. According to the Meteorological Department, the maximum day temperature on Wednesday is likely to be between 27 to 29 °C and the minimum temperature is likely to be between 14 to 16 °C. There is no chance of rain and the sky will be mainly clear.