Four days after Diwali, Delhi is still witnessing hazy skies and heavy smog in several parts of the city, as the air quality remains static for the third day straight. Visuals from India Gate and North Campus this morning showed how steeply the air quality of Delhi has declined in the past week.
The air quality of Delhi continued to remain in the ‘severe’ category on November 8 for the third straight day, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 432 on Monday morning.
The air quality index of several parts of Delhi was very high, with hazy air and smoggy roads witnessed in North and Central Delhi. The AQI of Delhi University’s North Campus was recorded as 466, while the Pusa road reported an AQI of 427. Other severely hit areas were IIT Delhi at 441 AQI and Lodhi road at 432 AQI.
In its daily forecast, SAFAR announced that the air quality of Delhi still remains in the ‘severe’ category, days after Diwali celebrations overtook the national capital. The main reason behind this is predicted as the large influx of stubble-related pollutants which appear to be due to the much higher effective fire count observed than the amount forecasted by SAFAR.
Though the AQI of Delhi remains severe for now, SAFAR has predicted that the haze will clear a little bit in the upcoming days. As per the forecast, the air quality is expected to improve from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ in the next two days, by November 10.
The air quality of Delhi a day after Diwali was the poorest in five years recorded after the festival, as per reports. The steep decline in the AQI was most likely the result of the firecracker ban flouted in Delhi, along with the stubble-burning incidents from nearby states.
