New Delhi, So much for the high level meeting of the officials from Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on Saturday to combat the troublesome smog situation in the capital and the adjoining areas for almost a week. The pollution levels had increased as high as seven times the permissible levels.
It was thus anticipated that the smog levels would increase further after the Diwali celebrations and would bother residents with low visibility and other smog related health irritants. But to everyone’s surprise, the increased wind speed early this morning, completely nullified the pollution levels.
People woke up to a light sunny and a pleasant morning, devoid of any smog. The winds that were calm till 5 am on November 14 picked up speed, reaching 10 kmph and swept away the thick moisture layer encircling entire northwest India. Cyclone Nilam that was responsible for the incursion of these moisture burdened winds to the north, lead to very high levels of smog. The visibility which was low till yesterday at 600 meters, increased to a good of 1.2 km this morning.
The Chief Minister of Delhi says she has already levied a few measures to control the smog levels from rising by charging a fine of Rs 2000 from vehicle owners who do not have pollution under control (PUC) certificate and restricting the entry of too many vehicles from the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana borders. The government has also assured to introduce short and long term measures in the near future to improve the air quality for people.
Coming weeks could be a little tough though, as an approaching Western Disturbance (November 17 onwards) could decrease the wind speeds and increase the chances of fog over the entire northwest. Occurrence of smog is also likely.
While goddess Laxmi did not shower as much wealth this Diwali and the price of rupee fell a few points, the weather gods have definitely shown some mercy! Delhiites have a smog free air to breathe, at least for a few days.
