New Delhi : Air quality in many parts of northern India, including Delhi, plunged to very hazardous levels again and is forecast to remain severe in the days ahead because of winds blowing in farm fire smoke from Haryana and Punjab.
“Last night’s extremely calm Delhi surface wind conditions as expected, further aggravated the situation by accumulation of pollutants,” the Safar pollution monitoring and forecasting unit of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said in its assessment on Wednesday.
The concentration of the very fine, and very dangerous, tiny PM 2.5 ranged from 314-479 micrograms per cubic metre at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, data from the Central Pollution Control Board.
In some other parts of the city such as Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri, the concentration of fine particles had touched 500, which is 10 times the safe level. When pollution rises to such alarming levels, citizens are advised to avoid outdoor activity and use masks for protection.
Noida and Ghaziabad, adjoining Delhi, were equally polluted, while most districts in Haryana had about the same level of PM 2.5 as Delhi. Many disricts in Punjab had a concentration of 350-450.
