Delhi’s air ‘severe’ again, new blanket of smog will increase difficulty, next 48 hours extremely critical

Delhi’s air is once again ready to dive into the ‘severe’ category. Pollution monitoring agencies had already issued a warning that air quality could reach dangerous levels by Tuesday (today). The morning has started with a thick blanket of fog, and according to weather experts, there is no hope of relief in the next 48 hours, rather the situation may worsen.

Why is the situation getting worse?

There are two main reasons behind this worsening situation: slow wind speed and increased humidity in the air. According to meteorologist Mahesh Palawat, due to both these reasons, a new and thick layer of fog and mist will form on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will trap the pollutant particles inside itself, due to which the pollution level will increase rapidly.

Apart from this, a new Western Disturbance is also knocking, which is making this problem more serious. Meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya has warned that this disturbance will have a negative impact on AQI and a new layer of haze will accumulate over Delhi-NCR on 4-5 November.

System failure? Errors are also visible in the figures

It is a matter of concern that even in the systems which give us accurate information about pollution, errors are being seen.

• CPCB’s app: On Monday night, the AQI of Delhi’s ITO station was showing only 188 (moderate) on the SAMEER app of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), while other nearby stations were in the ‘severe’ category. Upon investigation, it was found that several hours of data from the ITO station were missing, due to which the average appeared to be so low.
• Forecasting System: The Decision Support System (DSS) and Early Warning System (EWS), which detect sources of pollution, were also not updated on Monday, leading to lack of accurate information about forecast and current situation.

So when will we get relief from this ‘poisonous’ air?

The only hope of relief in this suffocating environment is from November 6.

According to meteorologists, there may be moderate rain in parts of Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday-Wednesday night, but its chances are very less in Delhi and UP.

Real relief will come from November 6, when strong north-westerly winds will return. These winds will act like a natural broom and carry away the accumulated pollution in Delhi-NCR, which may lead to improvement in AQI.

However, one effect of these winds will be that the night temperature will drop by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, which means along with relief, coolness will also increase.

Overall, the next 48 hours are going to be very difficult for Delhi-NCR. People, especially children, elderly and respiratory patients, are advised to stay indoors as much as possible and wear a good quality mask when going out.