Air plummets to red zone as pollution season sets in

Contribution of farm fires to city’s pollution that stood at 16% on Sunday is set to rise to nearly 30% today

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

NEW DELHI: The annual onslaught of pollution appears to have gripped Delhi again as the air quality index (AQI) jumped to the "very poor" level for the first time this season on Sunday, aided by a combination of factors which included low temperature, calm winds, and local as well as external sources of pollution which included rising farm fires in northern states, officials said.

Delhi AQI of 313 clocked an on Sunday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) bulletin - a sizeable rise from Saturday's AQI reading of 248 (poor). This is also the first time in more than five months that Delhi's AQI was "very poor", with it last recorded in this category on May 17, when the AQI was 336 due to dusty winds coming in from Rajasthan.

Forecasts show there is likely to be no significant change in meteorological conditions in the next few days, which will mean that Delhi's AQI will likely remain "very poor" till at least Wednesday, experts warned. Farm fires in upwind states of Punjab and Haryana too are likely to begin impacting the air quality more severely, they added.

Of the 36 air stations in Delhi that published readings on Sunday, 24 had readings in the "very poor" zone (301-400), according to CPCB's Sameer app. Two - Ashok Vihar and Aya Nagar-were even in the "severe" zone, while the remaining 10 were "poor". The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as "good", between 51 and 100 as "satisfactory", between 101 and 200 as "moderate", between 201 and 300 as "poor", between 301 and 400 as "very poor", and over 400 as "severe".