November 12, 2022 – The air quality of Delhi-NCR has deteriorated from poor to very poor in the last 24 hours. However, despite the season’s highest parali burning in Punjab, the wind did not turn severe. Experts have attributed favorable weather conditions to this. Air standard agencies forecast that the air will remain in the inferior category for the next two days due to no significant change in weather conditions.
Dr. Gurfan Baig, director of Centre’s air standards body Safar India, said that despite the wind direction being northwest on Friday, burning parali had a lesser share in the pollution of Delhi-NCR. The main reason for this was the high speed of the surface and local level winds. Because of this, the pollutants coming along with the air did not stop only in Delhi-NCR but further reached and spread to central India. Because of this, the smoke from burning parali could not accumulate in any place. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s AQI of 346 has been recorded in the very poor category. At the same time, the air of Faridabad, Greater Noida, and Gurugram was also very bad. The air in Noida and Ghaziabad has been recorded in the poor category.
Smoke from Parali
According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, incidents of parali burning have been recorded at 3916 places in the last 24 hours in Punjab, which is the highest. At the same time, parali was burnt at 152 locations in Haryana, 36 in Uttar Pradesh, 482 in Madhya Pradesh, and 95 in Rajasthan. According to SAFAR, a 19 percent share in PM 2.5 has been recorded due to the burning of parali. At the same time, particles larger than 2.5 micrometers accounted for 59 percent of PM 10. The PM 10 level was recorded at 323, and the PM 2.5 level at 199 micrograms per cubic meter.
Favorable conditions
According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the wind direction was northwest, with a speed of eight to 12 kilometers per hour during the last 24 hours. Also, due to sunshine throughout the day, the mixing height was recorded at 2250 meters, and the ventilation index was up to 18 thousand square meters per second. This was why its share was not recorded even after reaching the pollutant due to the burning of parali. The department forecasts that in the next 24 hours, the mixing height can be recorded up to 2130 meters and the ventilation index up to 20500 square meters per second. At the same time, the mixing height is 1650 meters, and the ventilation index is likely to be recorded at 10300 square meters per second on Sunday.
AQI of Delhi-NCR
Delhi – 346, Faridabad – 304, Ghaziabad – 285, Greater Noida – 311, Gurugram – 353, Noida – 286.
Temperature to dip from next week
The weather will take a turn in the capital from next week. The nights will be colder. The Meteorological Department has forecast that the minimum temperature may reach 12 degrees Celsius by the end of next week. On the other hand, in the last 24 hours, the maximum temperature was 28.5 degrees Celsius below average, and the minimum temperature was 14.6 degrees Celsius above average. The humidity level in the air was recorded at 39 to 94 percent. The department has forecast that in the next 24 hours, with light fog in the morning, the maximum temperature can be recorded at 29, and the minimum temperature is 14 degree Celsius.