Delhi’s air quality fell to the moderate category on Wednesday, with the city recording an AQI of 129, as 19 stubble-burning events were detected across the six study states, including seven each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, according to the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the AQI in the moderate category after five days of satisfactory AQI. Farmers set fire to crop residue on fields to clear them before cultivating wheat and vegetables. Incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana directly impact Delhi’s air quality, which battles severe air pollution every winter.
Of the 19 residue-burning events detected by satellites on Wednesday, four were in Madhya Pradesh and one in Haryana, according to the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute. A total of 114 residue-burning events were detected across the six states between September 15 and 30, including 59 in Punjab, 32 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Madhya Pradesh, three in Haryana, two in Rajasthan and one in Delhi, the data showed. The IIT Delhi station recorded a poor AQI of 207 at 6 pm. Of the 45 monitoring stations, 42 recorded moderate air quality and three recorded satisfactory air quality.
Under the CPCB classification, an AQI of 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”.
The air quality is likely to remain in the moderate category from October 1 to 3 and during the subsequent six days, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System. The ventilation index is expected to remain below 6,000 square metres per second, with an average wind speed of less than 10 kmph, conditions considered unfavourable for pollutant dispersion,” it said. Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 34.2 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department. Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 32.1 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, while Lodi Road recorded 33.8 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees above normal. The Ridge recorded a maximum temperature of 32.9 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 34.0 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 22.4 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees below normal. Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 21.0 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees below normal, while Lodi Road recorded 21.6 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees below normal. The Ridge recorded a minimum temperature of 18.8 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 22.2 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature was 1.8 degrees higher than Tuesday, while the minimum rose 1.4 degrees over the past 24 hours, according to weather observations released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). No rainfall was recorded in Delhi during the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday, the data showed. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
