Delhi's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category on Saturday, with smog reducing visibility on the eve of Diwali. The city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 369.Air quality is forecast to deteriorate to the 'severe' category on Sunday as Diwali celebrations, vehicle emissions, unfavourable weather conditions and the peak stubble-burning season are expected to increase pollution, news agency PTI reported.Of the 59 monitoring stations that recorded data on Saturday, 16 reported 'severe' air quality and 29 recorded it in the 'very poor' category.
The highest AQI was recorded near IIT Delhi at 452.The city's average AQI improved slightly from 382 on Friday to 369 on Saturday but remained close to the 'severe' threshold of 400. Several monitoring stations had already crossed this level, indicating worsening air quality across the capital.
According to Delhi's Air Quality Early Warning System, air quality is likely to remain in the 'severe' category on November 8 and 9. Over the following six days, it is expected to fluctuate between the 'severe' and 'very poor' categories.The Central Pollution Control Board classifies an AQI of zero to 50 as 'good', 51 to 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 as 'moderate', 201 to 300 as 'poor', 301 to 400 as 'very poor', and 401 to 500 as 'severe'.
Weather and air quality experts attributed the expected deterioration to unfavourable weather conditions, Diwali-related celebrations, vehicle emissions and the peak period of stubble burning in neighbouring states.The warning system said low ventilation levels, along with an average wind speed of less than 10 kilometres per hour, would make it difficult for pollutants to disperse. PM10 was the main pollutant in Delhi on Saturday.Delhi's Decision Support System said the transport sector was the largest contributor to the city's pollution on Saturday, accounting for 21.4 per cent.Stubble burning contributed an estimated 1.7 per cent, which could rise to 5.4 per cent on Sunday, Press Trust of India reported.Satellite data showed that 589 crop-residue burning incidents were detected across six states on Friday.
Punjab reported 357 incidents, Haryana nine, Uttar Pradesh 23, Rajasthan 58, Uttarakhand three and Madhya Pradesh 139.A total of 6,226 farm fire incidents were detected across the six states between September 15 and November 6.The data were provided in a bulletin by the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space Laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.- Ends(With PTI inputs)