Delhi air quality remains in very poor category
The national capital recorded an AQI of 369 on Thursday as pollution levels are forecast to reach severe levels over the Diwali weekend.
Delhi's air quality remained in the very poor category on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 369, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This marks the fourth consecutive day the city has recorded such levels.
The Indian Express reported that neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) also saw high pollution, with Gurugram at 339 and Noida at 283. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) forecast that air quality is likely to reach the severe category from Friday to Sunday.
According to the IITM, the outlook for the following six days suggests pollution will remain in the severe to very poor category. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute noted that 837 paddy residue burning events were detected by satellites on Thursday, including 440 in Punjab and 64 in Uttar Pradesh.
The IITM's Decision Support System indicated that the contribution of farm fires to PM2.5 emissions is expected to rise from 16% to approximately 19% by Friday. High baseline emissions from construction dust, roads, vehicles, and industries, combined with low temperatures and reduced wind speeds, are driving the surge.
Manoj Kumar, lead researcher at Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action, stated that industry was the largest domestic contributor to India's population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations at 18%. He added that emissions from outside city boundaries accounted for 82% to 89% of urban PM2.5 concentrations across 143 Indian cities.