New Delhi, November 1
The layer of smog lingering over Delhi thickened on Tuesday, lowering visibility and smudging landmarks from view, as the air quality turned ‘severe’ amid calmer winds and raging farm fires in Punjab.
NASA’s satellite images showed a dense cluster of red dots denoting farm fires in Punjab and parts of Haryana, and a layer of smoke blanketing huge swathes of the Indo-Gangetic plains from east Pakistan to east Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 429 at 10am on Tuesday, worsening from 352 at 4pm on Monday. An AQI above 400 is considered “severe” and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses.
According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC)’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released in June, residents of Delhi stand to lose 10 years of life expectancy due to poor air quality.
Air pollution rose to the upper end of the “severe” category at Burari Crossing (AQI 477), Bawana (465), Wazirpur (467), Narela (465), Vivek Vihar (457), Rohini (462), Jahangirpuri (475), Sonia Vihar (469) and Ashok Vihar (465).
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5 was above 450 micrograms per cubic metre, around eight times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre, in many areas.
PM 2.5 level from 61 to 120 is considered “moderate to poor”, 121 to 250 is “very poor”, 251 to 350 is “severe” and more than 350 is “severe plus”.
According to an analysis by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, people in the capital breathe the worst air between November 1 and November 15 when stubble-burning peaks.
The city records an average PM2.5 concentration of 285 micrograms per cubic metre from November 1 to 15.
An official at the India Meteorological Department said a thick layer of smog lowered visibility to 600 metres at the Safdarjung airport and 900 metres at the Palam airport in the morning.