Delhi's Air Quality Worsens Again As AQI Touches 313, Stubble Burning Set To Add To Pollution

Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the 'very poor' category on Wednesday, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) rising to 313. This came just a day after stronger winds brought temporary relief, improving pollution levels to the 'poor' category.

Forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) suggest that the transport sector will remain the biggest contributor to pollution, while the impact of stubble burning is likely to rise sharply on Thursday.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's average AQI increased from 299 on Tuesday to 313 on Wednesday. Of the 58 monitoring stations that recorded data, 34 reported 'very poor' air quality, 22 fell in the 'poor' category, one recorded 'severe' pollution levels and one registered 'moderate' air quality.

The Delhi Cantonment monitoring station was the only location to record moderate air quality, with an average AQI of 117. PM10 was the predominant pollutant across the national capital on Wednesday. The Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi has also forecast a rise in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations over the next two days.

The CPCB classifies AQI readings between 0 and 50 as 'good', 51 and 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 as 'moderate', 201 and 300 as 'poor', 301 and 400 as 'very poor', and 401 and 500 as 'severe'. According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi, the transport sector was expected to account for 17 per cent of the city's pollution on Wednesday.

Its contribution is projected to decline to 13 per cent by Thursday. Meanwhile, stubble burning is expected to account for 7 per cent of Delhi's pollution on Wednesday, with its contribution potentially rising to 20 per cent on Thursday.

Satellite data recorded 927 farm-fire incidents across six states on Tuesday. Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number at 376, followed by Punjab with 345, Uttar Pradesh with 119, Rajasthan with 64, Haryana with 14 and Uttarakhand with nine.

Between September 15 and November 10, a total of 9,592 farm-fire incidents were detected across the six states. The figures were released in a bulletin by the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) Laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

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