Air quality in Delhi worsened again on Wednesday, moving into the 'Poor' category after four days in the moderate category. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city rose from 197 on Tuesday to 229 on Wednesday. The Vivek Vihar area recorded a reading of 316, which falls under the 'Very Poor' category.
It is forecasted that air will remain in the moderate category for the next three days, but in six days it may be between moderate and poor. AQI indicates the purity or pollution level of the air. According to the CPCB scale, values from 0 to 50 are considered good, 51 to 100 are satisfactory, 101 to 200 are moderate, 201 to 300 are poor, 301 to 400 are very poor, and 401 to 500 are hazardous. There are 58 monitoring stations operating in Delhi.
On Wednesday, the air was moderate at 16 stations, while a poor level was recorded at the remaining 41 stations. The station in Vivek Vihar became the most polluted. Previously, on October 21, the AQI was 245, on October 22 it was 223, and on October 23 it was 230. After this, the air remained in the moderate category for four consecutive days, but the situation worsened again on Wednesday.
According to the Delhi Air Quality Early Warning System, from October 29 to 31, the air may remain in the moderate category. The forecast for the next six days is between moderate and poor. The system notes that if the ventilation index is below 6000 square meters per second and the average wind speed is below 10 kilometers per hour, pollutants are not dispersing properly. The Meteorological Department predicted cloudiness and moderate rain for Thursday, with possible thunderstorms on Friday.
Analysis of pollution sources shows that the transport sector contributed the most on Wednesday, accounting for 19.3 percent. The energy sector contributed 5 percent, and industry in Delhi and surrounding areas accounted for 4.8 percent, while domestic sources provided 5.1 percent. Pollution was also caused by construction (2.5 percent), garbage burning (1.8 percent), road dust (1.3 percent), and other areas (1.3 percent).
In the NCR regions, Ghaziabad contributed 11.8 percent, Gautam Buddh Nagar contributed 8.7 percent, Meerut contributed 8.6 percent, Muzaffarnagar contributed 5.7 percent, Baghpat contributed 4.2 percent, and Bulandshahr contributed 3.9 percent. Pollution was also coming from Faridabad (3.06 percent), Gurugram (2.1 percent), Sonipat (1.5 percent), and Jhajjar (0.5 percent). The share of stubble burning was 0.9 percent, and other sources contributed up to 9.6 percent.
According to daily reports from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), satellite data recorded 129 instances of field fires in six states on October 27. Of these, 33 were in Punjab, 1 in Haryana, 18 in Uttar Pradesh, 46 in Rajasthan, 7 in Uttarakhand, and 24 in Madhya Pradesh. In the period from September 15 to October 27, a total of 2267 such incidents were registered: 717 in Punjab, 22 in Haryana, 324 in Uttar Pradesh, 533 in Rajasthan, 159 in Uttarakhand, and 510 in Madhya Pradesh. During this period, two cases were noted in Delhi.