Air quality in Delhi enters severe category in parts of city
Stubble burning emissions are expected to rise as pollution levels deteriorate across the capital.
Air quality in Delhi reached the very poor category on Tuesday, with at least eight areas slipping into the severe category, according to The Times of India.
The city's air quality index was recorded at 350 at 4pm on Tuesday. Jahangirpuri in North Delhi recorded the highest pollution with an AQI of 462, followed by Punjabi Bagh at 449, DTU at 445, Vivek Vihar at 425, Mundka at 422, Bawana at 421, Alipur at 430, and North Campus at 405.
The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) stated that the share of stubble burning emissions from neighbouring states rose from 8.5 per cent on Monday to 15.5 per cent on Tuesday. The IITM expects this contribution to reach 20 per cent by November 4 and 22 per cent by November 5.
Monitoring agencies anticipate that air quality in the remaining parts of the city will also reach severe levels shortly. The IITM noted that air quality is likely to remain very poor or severe for the next six days.
Experts told The Times of India that weather conditions unfavourable for the dispersal of pollutants were a major reason for the spike, despite GRAP-II restrictions being in place since Monday. At Safdarjung, the maximum temperature was 29.1 degrees Celsius, which was below normal.