Delhiites heave a sigh of relief as air quality slightly improves

New Delhi: Delhi on Sunday heaved a sigh of relief as the Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded a further improvement due to slight increase in wind speed. The overall air quality index in the city read at 254 at 9.45 am, down from 312 at 4 pm on Saturday.

While some areas were in 'poor' category, others entered 'moderate' category. Areas such as Ashok Vihar (245), Aya Nagar (254), Bawana (252), DTU (236), Dwarka Sector – 8 (282), ITO (229), Mundka (286) were in 'poor' category, while areas such as Alipur (181), Shadipur (168), RK Puram (197) entered 'moderate' category.

However, experts suggest that the quality may come down in the coming days. Environment Ministry's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) forecasted, "A marginal deterioration in air quality is forecasted for November 25, but within the higher end of the poor category to lower end of very poor."

Meanwhile, the AQI is likely to stay in the 'poor' category on November 26, which may improve further in case of sufficient rain to wash away.

Stubble burning cases, meanwhile, have also come down, where SAFAR predicts that stubble transport-level winds are favorable for plume transport, but the high winds won't allow pollutant accumulation hence no significant stubble impact is expecting for the next two days.

Regular sprinkling of water has been taking place almost everyday.

From Saturday, the Delhi Fire Services began sprinkling water in 13 pollution hotspots in the city to check the spread of pollutants like dust, according to officials. The activity is being done after Delhi government's order.

The 13 pollution hotspots identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are Rohini, Dwarka, Okhla Phase II, Punjabi Bagh, Anand Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Bawana, Narela, Mundka and Mayapuri.