On Friday, Delhi’s AQI touched 471 on a scale of 500, higher than 462 reported a day after Diwali. Smog with cocktail of noxious gases engulfed Jaipur’s sky affecting visibility.
Health experts said it was causing breathing discomfort and respiratory illness among most people on prolonged exposure.
As Delhi-NCR’s 24-hour PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations have been over 500 and 300 micrograms per cubic metre for over 17 and 19 hours, respectively, states have been told to be ready to roll out “emergency” steps under the Graded Response Action Plan.
Bhiwadi’s AQI was the worst in Rajasthan at 446. Kota’s air quality was also in ‘very poor’ category clocking 337.
At 4pm, suspended particulate matter (PM2.5) at the Jaipur commissionarate was measured at 337 micrograms per cubic metre while PM10 was recorded at 238 micrograms per cubic metre. At Adarsh Nagar, PM2.5 was 361 while PM10 was 198. At Shastri Nagar, PM2.5 was 342 and PM10 was 157. The safe limit for PM10 and PM2.5 is 100 and 60 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively.
“The main reasons for smog is that with the arrival of winter, velocity of air decreases. And when the velocity of air decreases, pollutants do not disperse in the air easily. When the velocity of air remains normal or high, pollutants disperse easily and does not create any sort of smog,” said an expert at Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board.
The city had witnessed its worst-polluted day of the season on November 5 and since then the air quality improved till November 10 as it turned from ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ to ‘moderate.’ It remained moderate till November 12 but again deteriorated on November 13.
