Mild rain improves AQI to 193 points after huge surge of 581 on Sunday in Delhi NCR post-Diwali
But according to environment experts, the improvement in the AQI level was a temporary relief and air quality is likely to get worse again on Monday.
NEW DELHI: A sudden downpour on Sunday evening brought the much-needed solace to the inhabitants of New Delhi and NCR towns as the Air Quality Index (AQI) turned to a ‘moderate’ level with 193 points of PM 2.5 that had crossed the ‘sever or hazardous’ level with AQI hitting the 581 marks at 3.00 am.
According to the US Government’s environment watchdog agency AirNow, the AQI level improved at 5.00 pm on Sunday when it rained mildly in New Delhi and NCR towns like Gurugram.
However, according to environment experts, the improvement in the AQI level on Sunday was a temporary relief and air quality is likely to get worse again on Monday. And it is really a matter of concern for the Indian citizens, as well as for the expatriate community living in NCR towns like Gurugram and Noida from countries like Japan, South Korea, and others.
AirNow recorded the AQI with PM 2.5 level at 581 points at 3.00 am on Sunday while it was 495 point at 12.00 am-midnight.
AirNow is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and tribal, state, and local air quality agencies.
Despite India’s environment regulatory agency National Green Tribunal (NGT) clamping ban on the bursting of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR towns, the people here openly defied the directive and went ahead to burn crackers worsening the air pollution situation the Saturday evening, during the Diwali festival, the festival of lights.
The situation got worse in Delhi NCR as the farmers continued to burn crop residues in their field in the states like Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh surrounding New Delhi. It is a regular phenomenon that occurs every year during this season in India.
As per the AirNow records, the PM 2.5 level at 6 pm on Saturday was registered at 317, which shot up to 414 points at 10.00 pm, and finally touched 495 points at the midnight hours.
AirNow is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and tribal, state, and local air quality agencies.
The Department of State provides data from U.S. Embassies and Consulates to inform personnel and citizens overseas, and the U.S. Forest Service and NOAA provide fire and smoke data.
AirNow’s centralized data system provides quality control, national reporting consistency, and the ability to distribute data to the public, researchers, businesses, educators, and other data systems.
