New Delhi : Pollutants in the city’s air are on the rise again, dragging down its quality to the ‘very poor’ category, which comes after a relatively cleaner phase when a steady fall was observed in the levels of suspended particulate matters PM 2.5 and PM 10. Evening real-time readings of almost every Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) monitoring stations put PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels five-six times over the safe limits of 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metres respectively.
Around 8 pm, two System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) stations, namely Delhi University and Dhirpur, had air quality index in the ‘severe’ category.
“The level of pollutants has seen a rise since yesterday owing to the influx of pollutants from the Indo-gangetic plains,” a senior IMD official said. Anand Vihar, RK Puram, Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh had PM 2.5 readings of 376, 593, 131 and 190 respectively at around 8 pm.
Anything beyond the prescribed limits of PM 2.5 and PM 10, extremely fine particles, poses a threat to a healthy respiratory system. They have been consistently high, multiple times on occasions, in the capital, prompting the government to resort to a host of anti-pollution measures.
Very poor quality air signifies PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels between 351 and 420, and 211 to 252 micro gram per cubic metre, while severe is declared when PM 2.5 and PM 10 cross 253, 421 micro gram per cubic metres respectively.
