Delhi AQI Reaches Emergency Levels

Delhi, which was already having “severe” air quality since the last couple of weeks, has now crossed into “Emergency” level of Air Quality Index (AQI).

Crux of the Matter

1. System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said AQI of Delhi-NCR is expected to enter the “emergency” category by Wednesday.

2. Delhi’s average AQI was recorded as 435 on Tuesday, and 360 on Monday.

3. Specialists said the spike in contamination levels can be credited to a critical decrease in wind speed.

4. Episodes of stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab have expanded and northwesterly breezes have been bringing more pollution to the Delhi-NCR area, they said.

Curiopedia

Air Quality Index (AQI) is used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. Public health risks increase as the AQI rises. Different countries have their own air quality indices, corresponding to different national air quality standards. Some of these are the Air Quality Health Index (Canada), the Air Pollution Index (Malaysia), and the Pollutant Standards Index (Singapore). Read More

Curated Coverage

1. News18 – Already ‘Severe’, Delhi’s Air Pollution Likely to Enter ‘Emergency’ Zone on Wednesday

2. India Today – Thick layer of smog envelopes Delhi, ‘severe’ pollution likely to enter emergency zone today

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