Air quality poor again, may dip further in Delhi-NCR

NEW DELHI: The air quality in the national capital turned poor again on Sunday, primarily due to slow wind speed, and is likely to dip further. The wind speed has been fluctuating between six and 10 kilometers per hour for the last two to three days. It may reduce further by Wednesday, leading to an increase in pollution levels, experts said.

The air quality index of the national capital read 250 at 4 pm on Sunday, up from Saturday's 193.

The suburbs of Ghaziabad (292), Greater Noida (281), Faridabad (218) and Noida (241) also recorded an increase in pollution levels.

"By Wednesday, the wind speed will drop to six kmph. As a result of it, the air quality is expected to dip further, but no drastic deterioration is expected," Kuldeep Srivastava, a senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department, said.

The government's air quality monitor, SAFAR, also said that the AQI is likely to deteriorate marginally -- to higher end of the poor category on Monday.

"Further deterioration to the very poor category is predicted for Tuesday. Since the farm fire count is low, no significant impact of stubble burning is likely in Delhi," it said.