New Delhi: Delhi is covered in a thick layer of smog as the air quality remains in the ‘Severe’ category. Despite a drop in cases of stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana, which is seen as a contributor to Delhi’s pollution, the AQI is still hovering in the ‘Severe’ category.
IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) have formulated a real-time source apportionment and forecasting for advanced air pollution management in Delhi. The real-time index calculates the sources of air pollution to help understand the major contributors behind the national capital’s worsening air quality.
Air Quality Index (AQI) is recorded over 400 in several monitoring stations across Delhi. Biomass Burning or stubble burning remains a big contributor to Delhi’s air pollution. Around 22 per cent of all the sources came from biomass burning, but the percentage is less when compared to vehicular pollution at 38 per cent, the biggest contributor today in the national capital air pollution.
A thick layer of smog blanketed the national capital and its suburbs, reducing visibility to just 600 metres at 8 am at the Safdarjung Observatory, the national capital’s primary weather station. The visibility was 800 metres at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI).
Farmer leaders in Punjab have accused the Centre and the Delhi government earlier said vehicular and industrial pollution contributes majorly to Delhi’s worsening air quality.
Secondary aerosols are particles such as sulfates and nitrates and are released from vehicles, industry, agriculture refineries, etc. Today, around 26 per cent of pollutants are secondary aerosols.
Up until Sunday, Delhi’s monthly average AQI of 377 was the highest for November in the previous eight years. In November 2021, it was 376, and in November 2016, it was 374.
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