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Delhi

'Delhi's air quality expected to deteriorate significantly'

NEW DELHI: Delhi's air quality is expected to "significantly deteriorate" on Sunday due to a decline in temperature which might lead to entrapment of pollutants, a government agency said on November 29. According to a senior official at the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), the air quality even after "significant deterioration" is likely to stay in "very poor" level and not reach the "severe" category.

The SAFAR in its daily report said air quality was likely to "deteriorate significantly" on Sunday due to a fall in temperature, which could lead to entrapment of pollutants. Delhi's air quality remained in the "very poor" category on Thursday due to "unfavourable meteorological conditions" that slowed down the dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.

The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 353, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

The CPCB said seven areas in Delhi — Ashok Vihar, Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Rohini, Vivek Vihar and Wazirpur — recorded 'severe' air quality. Twenty areas in the national capital recorded 'very poor' air quality while it was 'poor' in six areas, it said. The level of PM2.5 — particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres — was recorded at 206 and the PM10 level was recorded at 360, it said.

In NCR, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida recorded "very poor" air quality while Gurgaon fell into the 'poor' category. According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the wind speed and ventilation index are "extremely unfavourable" for dispersion of pollutants. Ventilation index determines how fast pollutants can get dispersed. The ventilation index of around 6,000 sqm/second gets rid of pollutants, but it fell to 2,500 sqm/second on Thursday in

the city.

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