Post Diwali, Delhi faces massive dip in air pollution
New Delhi : Just a day after Diwali, a huge spike has been registered in the PM levels across the national capital, the prime reason behind this has been noted as the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali celebrations.
Hourly PM10 levels were at 15 to 16 times the 24-hour standard at some stations. At the monitoring station at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the PM10 concentration peaked at 1632 µg/m3 at 2 am, when the 24-hour standard is 100 µg/m3. The level remained over 1000 µg/m3 from 11 pm to 4 am, falling to 467 µg/m3 by 8 am on Monday, going by data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
On a similar note, hourly PM, 2 .5 levels at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium were over 20 times the 24-hour standard Sunday night and early morning Monday. The PM2.5 concentration peaked at 1423 µg/m3 at 2 am, when the 24-hour standard is 60 µg/m3. The level had fallen to 383 µg/m3 by 8 am.
It must be noted that Delhi's 24-hour average AQI deteriorated from 212 (poor category) at 11:00 AM on Sunday to 301 (very poor category) at 10:00 AM on Monday.
Light rain and speedy winds had brought down the pollutants in the city in last couple of days due to which the best air quality was rested during Diwali celebrations in last eight years. Meanwhile, after Diwali celebrations, the AQI has seen a huge drop. And the ruling party, Aam Aadmi Party, has been blaming the bursting of firecrackers for it.
