Air in Delhi nears ‘severe’ again as winds drop, thickening haze

A dense blanket of haze settled over the Capital on Tuesday, trapping pollutants close to the surface as wind speeds dropped sharply, sending Delhi's air quality index (AQI) hurtling from the lower end of the “very poor” category to its upper fringe.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB's) 24-hour average bulletin, the AQI rose from 304 on Monday to 372at 4pm on Tuesday. By 10pm, ithad climbed to 392— hovering just shy of the “severe” mark.

Forecast agencies, however, signalled a potential short-term reprieve. Wind speeds are expected to strengthen on Wednesday, likely dispersing at least part of the rapidly accumulating pollution load.

Delhi's air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category from December 3 till December 5. The outlook for the subsequent six days from December 6 onwards also shows AQI staying in ‘very poor,” said the Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi on Tuesday.

CPCB data from the 39 active ambient air quality stations across the city at 4pm showed that 14 of them were in the “severe” range, with 24 others in “very poor”. The worst AQI was 458, at Chandni Chowk, followed by 436 at Nehru Nagar and 433, at Vivek Vihar.