AQI likely to stay between ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ in coming week in Delhi

According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology’s (IITM) Decision Support System, transport emissions contributed 19.88%, industrial emissions in Delhi and the periphery 3.75%, and residential emissions 4.88%. Neighbouring areas like Jhajjar added around 8.55% to Delhi’s PM2.5 load.

However, the system forecasts that the share of farm fires will rise to 16.36% on Saturday. “The air quality is likely to be in the ‘Very Poor’ category from November 15 to 17. The outlook for the subsequent six days indicates ‘Very Poor’ to ‘Severe’ conditions,” the IITM forecast stated.

Low temperatures and calm winds during this season trap pollutants close to the surface, while smoke from crop residue burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh adds to Delhi’s already high baseline pollution.

The maximum temperature on Friday was 26.4°C, two notches below normal, while the minimum was 10.2°C, three notches below normal. The IMD has predicted mainly clear skies with fog expected over the next six days.

Satellite data recorded 1,022 stubble-burning incidents across six states on Saturday. Of these, 104 were recorded in Punjab, 24 in Haryana, 129 in Uttar Pradesh, 159 in Rajasthan and 606 in Madhya Pradesh.

No events were recorded in Delhi. Between September 15 and November 14, a total of 16,024 fire counts have been detected across the region.

West–southwesterly winds with speeds up to 15 kmph prevailed in the past 24 hours. On Saturday, surface winds are expected to be northwesterly, calm in the early morning, gradually increasing to 5 kmph and strengthening to about 12 kmph in the afternoon before slowing again at night.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. ‘Severe’ AQI is known to harm even healthy individuals and “seriously impact those with existing diseases”.