Odd-Even II: On day 8, ozone and PM 2.5 dominant pollutants

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), ozone levels were recorded at around 61 parts per billion or 120 micorgams per cubic metre Friday.

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On Saturday, it dropped to about 59 parts per billion or 118 micrograms per cubic metre. The safe limit for ozone is 180 micrograms per cubic metre for an eight-hour average.

Scientists say ozone is among the dominant summer pollutants. It is formed by a photochemical reaction between different pollutants, including the finer particles from vehicular pollution.

“Ozone formation is also linked to the weather because high temperature is critical to its formation. The heat seen over the last few days could also be responsible for the spike in ozone levels,” said a scientist.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government’s spot-monitoring data from 74 locations Friday showed that while border areas recorded comparatively lower particulate matter compared to the past few days, parts of south, central, north and west Delhi reported spikes.

Lajpat Nagar recorded the highest PM 10 levels at with 281 µg/m3, while Rajouri Garden recorded the highest PM 2.5 value at 95.

Areas like Shahjahan Road, AIIMS, Hyatt Hotel, Khan Market and Motibagh in central and south Delhi recorded high PM 10 levels of over 230.

Shalimar Bagh in north Delhi, at 270 micrograms per cubic metre, also recorded one of the highest levels of PM 10 in the city. Rajouri Garden and Shalimar Bagh also recorded the highest PM 2.5 levels in the city at 95 and 92. Lajpat Nagar also recorded high PM 2.5 levels of 91.

Meanwhile, border areas which had reported the highest particulate pollution during the initial days of the odd-even scheme, reported comparatively lower particulate matter levels.

Tikri border reported a PM 10 value of 94 while the Badarpur border recorded a level of 126 µg/m3. At the Noida border, the pollutant was recorded at 105. PM 2.5 values at the same border areas, were recorded at 48, 58 and 51 respectively.

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