Air stays ‘very poor’, no relief in sight for 48 hrs

Delhi’s air quality remained `very poor’ on Saturday with moderate to dense fog seen in several places around the capital. Conditions are expected to remain the same for the next 48 hours with dense fog expected in parts of the city, experts said.

Wind speed picked up in the evening, which saw an improvement in air quality but conditions in the morning remained poor with PM 2.5 levels over 3-4 times in several places across Delhi. The permitted limit of PM 10 being 100 microgramscubic metre, while it is 60 microgramscubic metre for PM 2.5.

The PM 10 levels were recorded as 294 (micrograms cubic metre), while PM 2.5 levels were 148 (micrograms cubic metre) according to the 24-hour rolling average calculated by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) across different locations in Delhi. According to a scientist at the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre in New Delhi, a fresh cyclonic system emerging over the Bay of Bengal is likely to “change the wind pattern” and bring in dense fog in parts.