New Delhi: Delhi residents woke up to mild showers in different parts of the city on early Sunday.
While the cloudy sky and haze prevented the Chhath devotees from getting a glimpse of the rising sun on the final day of the 4-day festival, the mild spell also failed to provide any respite from the 'severe' level of pollution in parts of the National Capital Region (NCR). According to the Indian Meteorological Department, there will be a possibility of light rain and thunderstorms throughout the city.
"Partly cloudy sky with possibility of very light rain or thundershowers. Strong surface winds during the day (speed 15-20 km). The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 29 and 19 degree Celsius respectively", the weather forecast agency said. The mild spell has led to a marginal drop in the Air Quality Index (AQI) with readings at different places showing in 'severe category'.
As of today morning, the AQI reading at Bawana is at 492, ITO crossing is at 487 and Ashok Vihar is at 482, all in 'Severe' category. In Ghaziabad, Vasundhara at 486 and Indirapuram at 482 on Air Quality Index. As per Skymet, the Air Quality Index for Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad shows severe to hazardous readings with PMs ranging from 400 to 709.
Experts have advised to wear face masks during outdoor exposure and limit outdoor activities to a minimum. Outdoor exercise and ventilation are not recommended. On Friday, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority declared a public health emergency as the air quality will have an adverse health impact on all particularly the children.
The layer of smog and dust particles is due to worsening air quality causes throat irritation and leads to serious health risk. An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is "severe-plus or emergency" category.
