New Delhi

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that strong winds blasted over Delhi on Tuesday morning (May 16), producing dust, impacting air quality, and lowering visibility to 1,000 metres. Meteorologists blame the dusty conditions on a combination of extreme temperatures in northwest India over the last five days, dry land owing to a lack of rain, and strong winds that have lasted since midnight.

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"In the early hours, the wind was blowing at 30-35 kmph. It will rain during the day, allowing the dust to settle," according to Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, who spoke to PTI. 

"Dust concentration has gone up multiple times. The PM10 concentration rose from 140 micrograms per cubic metre at 4 am to 775 micrograms per cubic metre at 8 am. It is mainly because of strong gusty winds prevailing over the area. Dust will settle down soon," said V K Soni, the head of the IMD's Environment Monitoring and Research Centre, who spoke to PTI. 

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Maximum temperatures in Delhi have risen beyond 40 degrees Celsius in the last four days, exacerbating the scorching weather. According to the IMD, a partly overcast sky and light showers in the evening may give limited relief. The high temperature is expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius by Sunday. 

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Crucial conference on source apportionment study held in Delhi

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The Delhi government said on Monday that a roundtable discussion was convened to review the findings of a real-time source apportionment research on air pollution and to devise a strategy to enhance air quality in the city and the National Capital Region.

On Monday, representatives from the Commission for Air Quality Management, Central Pollution Control Board, SAFAR, United Nations Environment Programme, India Meteorological Department, World Bank, Centre for Science and Environment, The Energy and Resources Institute, and NCR states attended the "Save Environment Roundtable Conference" at the Delhi Secretariat.

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“We shared the data collected during the source apportionment study over the past six months with the participants, sought their suggestions and prepared a strategy to further reduce air pollution in Delhi-NCR,” Rai said.

"The ultimate goal is to devise policies at local and regional levels to enhance the air quality in Delhi," he said.

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Real-time source apportionment (RTSA) studies assist in identifying variables responsible for an increase in air pollution at any location, such as cars, dust, biomass burning, and industrial emissions, so that appropriate preventative actions can be implemented.

Rai stated that orders have been issued to establish mobile air quality monitoring vans in 13 Delhi air pollution hotspots to determine the contribution of various pollution sources in real time.

(With inputs from agencies)

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