Delhi's PM2.5 lowest in 5 yrs but highest in NCR

WINTER POLLUTION - C.S.E. SEASONAL STUDY

Delhi logged its cleanest winter season in five years with respect to PM2.5 particulates, an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed. However, among cities in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi had the highest concentration of PM2.5 particulates, the study said, while Noida had the lowest.

“The city-wide winter average for Delhi stood at 160 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) for the October-January period, which is the lowest level recorded since wide-scale monitoring started in 2018-19. The PM2.5 level, computed by averaging monitoring data from 36 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) located in the city, was 17% lower compared to the seasonal average of 2018-19 winter. Based on the subset of the 10 oldest stations in Delhi, there is an improvement of almost 20%,” the analysis said.

In comparison, Delhi’s PM2.5 levels were 171 µg/m³in 2021-22, 186 µg/m³ in 2020-21, 173 µg/m³ in 2019-20 and 193 µg/m³ in 2018-19, the study said.