Winter menace: Delhi's air quality continues to be 'severe'; sparks health concerns

On Monday (Jan 19), the national capital, Delhi’s air quality continues to be severe due to dense fog and cold. Visibility has become a concern as it disrupts traffic, creating a hindrance to daily life. The Air Quality Index (AQI) readings are showing close to 400 in the mornings as recorded at several monitoring stations. This data has been released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This phenomenon is contributing to health issues, as the combination of toxic air, persistent fog and low temperatures is concerning.

And over the weekend, the AQI average at 4 PM on Sunday, with data collated over 24 hours, showed 440. So, the capital has remained steady in the severe category, which may be an improvement over its earlier placement. ‘Very poor’ in this context is looked at as better, given the history of air quality in this region of the country during winters.

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Major contributors to Delhi’s pollution

It has been noticed that vehicular emissions are the largest contributor to the pollution, which accounts for around 12.47% of the total pollution levels. This data is as per the Decision Support System; it also revealed that around 7.8% comes from industrial emissions from peripheral areas. The lowest contributor of pollution is through residential emissions, which is 3.3%. Biomass burning and other sources, including construction activities, account for 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.