New Year brings no joy to Delhi's air quality

NEW DELHI: The New Year for the Delhiites is likely not to be a happy start as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) predicted that the air quality will reach "severe" on Monday, Until Sunday afternoon, the air quality was 398 two units below from the "severe" mark.

The air quality index for Shadipur showed 387, while that of RK Puram was 350, both falling in the 'hazardous' category.

'Very poor' AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illness on prolonged exposure to such air.

On further dip in air quality, the AQI will turn "severe" and "emergency" when it goes off-scale.

The Centre-run pollution monitoring and forecasting agency SAFAR predicted that concentration of PM2.5, more harmful owing to its extremely tiny size, and PM10 may rise over the weekend.

The CPCB attributed the rise in the air pollution level to calm conditions marked by a fall in wind speed and the incursion of moisture in the air, conditions which favour accumulation of particulates.

The CPCB scientists said that if the condition continues like this then people should avoid outside activities which might affect the mood of the New Year.

"If the wind speed does not increase then the situation will worsen further," said a CPCB official.

The cold wave coupled with dense fog caused disruption in the train schedule, with as many as 57 trains delayed, 15 cancelled and 18 rescheduled.

Low visibility has also hampered the movement of flights in and out of the national capital. All flights to and from Delhi are currently on standby, and operations have been stalled.

Furthermore, around 10 flights have been diverted from Delhi airport. The meteorological department has predicted a maximum temperature of 23 degree Celsius, with lows of seven degrees and dense fog during the day.