Pollution levels are scaling new heights every day, exposing Delhi-NCR to dangerous atmospheric conditions.
On Wednesday, Delhiites woke up to intense layer of smog, leading to significant drop in visibility across the national capital. Some areas even reported almost nil visibility. Palam Observatory reported visibility of mere 300 meters between 5:30 am to 9:30 am. Such conditions are usually witnessed during the thick of winters.
Burning of solid waste, vehicular emissions and dust from construction sites are some of the major factors to the smog. In addition to this, burning of crops across the adjoining states of Haryana and Punjab have also contributed to the city’s pollution.
According to Skymet Weather, northwesterly winds are bringing these pollutants towards Delhi as these states are also located northwest of the city. Firecrackers on the eve of Diwali has further worsened the conditions.
The situation further accentuated as very light and calm winds around 5 km per hour started blowing over the city for the last few days. Besides this, low temperatures and high levels of humidity have further made the city vulnerable to smog.
All these factors did not let the pollutants disperse, which remained suspended into the lower atmosphere leading to dense smog.
No relief in offing
What is more worrying is the fact that there is no relief in offing in the coming days. A Western Disturbance is seen approaching the hilly region of North India by November 4, while an anti-cyclone is also marked over Rajasthan. With these two weather systems, we do not expect increase in the wind speed for another 2-3 days. This indicates that smog is here to stay.
Some relief is expected only after November 6 as wind speed is likely to pick up. According to weathermen, until and unless wind speed does not reach 15-25 kmph, smog will not disperse.
Current status of Pollution in Delhi
As per the standards set by the World Health Organization, PM2.5 is kept below 10 as an annual average. Exposure to average annual concentrations of PM2.5 of 35 or above puts one at the 15% higher long-term mortality risk.
Delhi has been reeling under air pollution problem for quite long now. the city ranks at 11th position as the world’s worst polluted city, with an annual average PM2.5 measurement of 122.
Image credit: aqicn.org/map/india/
Any information taken from here should be attributed to skymetweather.com
