Many cities document poor air high quality after Diwali
8 min readBy PTI
NEW DELHI: A day after Diwali, air high quality was recorded as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ in Delhi and a number of other different cities and cities, particularly in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, however was nonetheless comparatively higher than in earlier years within the nationwide capital.
The nationwide capital and its neighbouring areas had witnessed extreme air high quality post-Diwali when the pageant was celebrated in November throughout final two years, with intense smog enveloping the area for days as stubble burning peaks through the month whereas low temperatures and calm winds entice pollution.
However, beneficial climate circumstances associated to temperature and wind route diluted the impact of firecrackers and stubble burning to some extent this yr.
Delhi’s air high quality index (AQI) stood at 310 at 11 pm on Monday. It elevated to 326 by 6 am on Tuesday, remained steady until 9 am after which began lowering. It was 312 at 4.10 pm.
An AQI between zero and 50 is taken into account ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘passable’, 101 and 200 ‘average’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘extreme’.
A metro practice runs on its observe amid low visibility on account of smog, publish ‘Diwali’ celebrations, in New Delhi, Oct. 25, 2022 (Photo | PTI)
In neighbouring areas, Noida in Uttar Pradesh (312) and Gurugram (313), Faridabad (311) and Charkho Dadri (301) in Haryana reported very poor air high quality at 9 am.
Greater Noida (282) and Ghaziabad (272) in UP had been additionally nearing the very poor class.
Bhiwani, Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Jind, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, and Panipat in Haryana reported their AQI at 291, 241, 279, 214, 296, 211, 276 and 192 respectively, based on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) knowledge On Tuesday afternoon.
In Punjab’s Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala, Jalandhar and Khanna, the AQI recorded at 10.10 am was 313, 249, 208, 225, 260 and 212 respectively.
Jodhpur (337) in Rajasthan and Bulandshahr (329) in UP additionally recorded very poor air high quality.
Other cities with poor air high quality included Rajasthan’s Jaipur (265), Ajmer (226) and Kota (216); Gujarat’s Ahmedabad (243), Belgaum (221) in Karnataka; Jabalpur (235), Katni (237) and Dewas (207) in Madhya Pradesh; in UP, Agra (206), Lucknow (241), Kanpur (218) and Khurja (238); Begusarai (325) in Bihar and Tamil Nadu capital Chennai (229).
The AQI within the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, was recorded at 178.
Delhi and Northern states nonetheless face an uphill battle
On Monday evening, individuals in Delhi flouted the ban on firecrackers with impunity although over 400 groups of the Delhi Police, the Department of Revenue, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee had been shaped to implement it. The Delhi authorities had in September introduced the ban on the manufacturing, sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers until January 1, 2023, together with on Diwali, a observe it has been following for the final two years.
PM2.5 focus at most locations within the capital was over 550 micrograms per cubic metre by 1 am.
However, PM2.5 ranges dropped beneath 350 micrograms per cubic metre by 10 am on account of heat and windier circumstances.
PM2.5 are high-quality particles which might be 2.5 microns or much less in diameter and may journey deep into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs and getting into the bloodstream.
The Punjab authorities had allowed bursting firecrackers on Diwali from 8 pm until 10 pm whereas the Haryana authorities allowed solely inexperienced crackers within the state. Farm fires continued at many locations in Punjab and Haryana regardless of efforts to cease the observe.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is without doubt one of the causes behind the alarming spike in air air pollution ranges within the nationwide capital in October and November.
“Bursting of firecrackers led to a sharp increase in air pollution with PM2.5 concentration, on an average, jumping to 550 micrograms per cubic metre across Delhi by 1 am,” Sunil Dahiya, an analyst on the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), informed PTI.
Dahiya stated stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana peaks solely in October-end and November and therefore its contribution to air air pollution on Diwali was not very vital.
Mobile anti-smog weapons spray water into the air after their flag-off by Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, in New Delhi on Monday. (Parveen Negi by EPS)
However, the wind route modified to southwesterly, which is unfavourable for the transport of smoke. Hence, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution (5 to eight per cent) was additionally “not very significant”, stated Gufran Beig, chair professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science.
Emissions from firecrackers and farm fires have contributed considerably to Delhi’s PM2.5 air pollution on Diwali through the years. The share of farm fires in Delhi’s PM2.5 air pollution was 25 per cent on Diwali in 2021, 32 per cent in 2020 and 19 per cent in 2019.
Since Diwali was celebrated early within the season this yr, reasonably heat and windier circumstances prevented the fast accumulation of pollution from firecrackers bursting and decreased the impact of stubble burning.
Other states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu allowed the bursting of firecrackers throughout a two-hour window.
Chennai chokes on account of ‘poor’ air high quality
The Roads at Velachery had been seen utterly lined with smog following the Diwali celebrations on Monday Night. (Ashwin Prasath by EPS)
In Chennai (229), the air high quality was recorded as ‘poor’, based on official figures. The metropolis police registered 354 circumstances concerning numerous violations, together with the time restrict allowed for bursting crackers.
According to the figures uploaded on the web site of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) as of midday, a lot of the commentary factors within the metropolis and its environment typically had ‘poor’ air high quality. The state authorities had earlier mandated the bursting of crackers between 6-7 AM and 7-8 PM in step with a Supreme Court route.
Chennai metropolis wakes up with smog following Diwali celebrations. (Ashwin Prasath by EPS)
NEW DELHI: A day after Diwali, air high quality was recorded as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ in Delhi and a number of other different cities and cities, particularly in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, however was nonetheless comparatively higher than in earlier years within the nationwide capital.
The nationwide capital and its neighbouring areas had witnessed extreme air high quality post-Diwali when the pageant was celebrated in November throughout final two years, with intense smog enveloping the area for days as stubble burning peaks through the month whereas low temperatures and calm winds entice pollution.
However, beneficial climate circumstances associated to temperature and wind route diluted the impact of firecrackers and stubble burning to some extent this yr.
Delhi’s air high quality index (AQI) stood at 310 at 11 pm on Monday. It elevated to 326 by 6 am on Tuesday, remained steady until 9 am after which began lowering. It was 312 at 4.10 pm.
An AQI between zero and 50 is taken into account ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘passable’, 101 and 200 ‘average’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘extreme’.
A metro practice runs on its observe amid low visibility on account of smog, publish ‘Diwali’ celebrations, in New Delhi, Oct. 25, 2022 (Photo | PTI)
In neighbouring areas, Noida in Uttar Pradesh (312) and Gurugram (313), Faridabad (311) and Charkho Dadri (301) in Haryana reported very poor air high quality at 9 am.
Greater Noida (282) and Ghaziabad (272) in UP had been additionally nearing the very poor class.
Bhiwani, Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Jind, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, and Panipat in Haryana reported their AQI at 291, 241, 279, 214, 296, 211, 276 and 192 respectively, based on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) knowledge On Tuesday afternoon.
In Punjab’s Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala, Jalandhar and Khanna, the AQI recorded at 10.10 am was 313, 249, 208, 225, 260 and 212 respectively.
Jodhpur (337) in Rajasthan and Bulandshahr (329) in UP additionally recorded very poor air high quality.
Other cities with poor air high quality included Rajasthan’s Jaipur (265), Ajmer (226) and Kota (216); Gujarat’s Ahmedabad (243), Belgaum (221) in Karnataka; Jabalpur (235), Katni (237) and Dewas (207) in Madhya Pradesh; in UP, Agra (206), Lucknow (241), Kanpur (218) and Khurja (238); Begusarai (325) in Bihar and Tamil Nadu capital Chennai (229).
The AQI within the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, was recorded at 178.
Delhi and Northern states nonetheless face an uphill battle
On Monday evening, individuals in Delhi flouted the ban on firecrackers with impunity although over 400 groups of the Delhi Police, the Department of Revenue, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee had been shaped to implement it. The Delhi authorities had in September introduced the ban on the manufacturing, sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers until January 1, 2023, together with on Diwali, a observe it has been following for the final two years.
PM2.5 focus at most locations within the capital was over 550 micrograms per cubic metre by 1 am.
However, PM2.5 ranges dropped beneath 350 micrograms per cubic metre by 10 am on account of heat and windier circumstances.
PM2.5 are high-quality particles which might be 2.5 microns or much less in diameter and may journey deep into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs and getting into the bloodstream.
The Punjab authorities had allowed bursting firecrackers on Diwali from 8 pm until 10 pm whereas the Haryana authorities allowed solely inexperienced crackers within the state. Farm fires continued at many locations in Punjab and Haryana regardless of efforts to cease the observe.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is without doubt one of the causes behind the alarming spike in air air pollution ranges within the nationwide capital in October and November.
“Bursting of firecrackers led to a sharp increase in air pollution with PM2.5 concentration, on an average, jumping to 550 micrograms per cubic metre across Delhi by 1 am,” Sunil Dahiya, an analyst on the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), informed PTI.
Dahiya stated stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana peaks solely in October-end and November and therefore its contribution to air air pollution on Diwali was not very vital.
Mobile anti-smog weapons spray water into the air after their flag-off by Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, in New Delhi on Monday. (Parveen Negi by EPS)
However, the wind route modified to southwesterly, which is unfavourable for the transport of smoke. Hence, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution (5 to eight per cent) was additionally “not very significant”, stated Gufran Beig, chair professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science.
Emissions from firecrackers and farm fires have contributed considerably to Delhi’s PM2.5 air pollution on Diwali through the years. The share of farm fires in Delhi’s PM2.5 air pollution was 25 per cent on Diwali in 2021, 32 per cent in 2020 and 19 per cent in 2019.
Since Diwali was celebrated early within the season this yr, reasonably heat and windier circumstances prevented the fast accumulation of pollution from firecrackers bursting and decreased the impact of stubble burning.
Other states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu allowed the bursting of firecrackers throughout a two-hour window.
Chennai chokes on account of ‘poor’ air high quality
The Roads at Velachery had been seen utterly lined with smog following the Diwali celebrations on Monday Night. (Ashwin Prasath by EPS)
In Chennai (229), the air high quality was recorded as ‘poor’, based on official figures. The metropolis police registered 354 circumstances concerning numerous violations, together with the time restrict allowed for bursting crackers.
According to the figures uploaded on the web site of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) as of midday, a lot of the commentary factors within the metropolis and its environment typically had ‘poor’ air high quality. The state authorities had earlier mandated the bursting of crackers between 6-7 AM and 7-8 PM in step with a Supreme Court route.
Chennai metropolis wakes up with smog following Diwali celebrations. (Ashwin Prasath by EPS)
