Delhi AQI plummets to 'very poor' on Diwali to further dip in air quality expected in next two days

Delhi and the adjacent areas saw a dip in the air quality on the day of festival of Diwali (Oct 20). The city, which has been allowed by the Supreme Court for burst firecracker for the first time in years, woke up to a blanket of smog. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which has 38 sensors throughout the city, 31 showed air quality as 'very poor' while three were in 'severe' category. Most of the areas showed the air quality index (AQI) at more than 300 which is considered very poor. Overall, the AQI in the city was 334 in the afternoon as per the official CPCB data.

Which areas in Delhi are the most polluted?

The three areas where the CPCB sensors showed air quality as 'severe' were Anand Vihar (402), Wazirpur (423), and Ashok Vihar (414). The index is likely to drop further on the next two days, i.e Tuesday (Oct 21) and Wednesday (Oct 22). This comes even as Supreme Court has only allowed sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi on this Diwali that too with certain restrictions.

As per the guidelines of the apex court, only green firecrackers are allowed to burst on the day of Diwali (Oct 20) and a day before (Oct 29) between morning 6 am to 7 am and evening 8 pm to 10 pm. The air quality is expected to take a severe dip on the following day of the Diwali.

As per the standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe.'

What is Delhi government doing to curb pollution?

The state government has already put in Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) II in place to tackle the pollution. It involves usage of water sprinklers and daily mechanical or vacuum sweeping on identified roads and areas to control dust. Earlier, the Delhi Government has also confirmed readiness for cloud seeding in the days following Diwali to washout the polluting particles.