Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, on Monday, made a comment saying he has never seen people who are so determined to make their own lives miserable. The CJP leader’s comment was in relation to the worsening air quality in metro cities including Delhi and Mumbai after Diwali night as people celebrated the festival. Dipke’s remark also appeared as a swipe on people as both the cities woke up to thick layer of smog on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, Dipke in another comment had said, “festivals are meant to spread love and happiness, not hatred and division.”
Grey Morning in Delhi, Mumbai Day After Diwali
A thick grey haze swallowed the skyline, reduced visibility on roads and brought back irritation in the eyes and throat as Delhi woke up to alarmingly high pollution levels on Monday, after firecrackers were burst across the city well past the permitted hours on Diwali.
The capital’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood in the ‘very poor’ category at 370 and is expected to deteriorate further to enter the ‘severe’ category during the day.
DTU and Burari Crossing monitoring stations recorded the worst air quality, with an AQI of 437 each. Four other stations recorded ‘poor’ air quality, while the remaining stations were in the ‘very poor’ category.
How AQI Level Represents Different Air Quality
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.
The air quality remained ‘severe’ in several areas, including Bawana, Burari, Jahangirpuri, Sonia Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla and Rohini.
According to open-source air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Delhi’s AQI went up to 2,283 after Diwali. On Monday morning, the AQI stood at 637, which the platform classified as “hazardous”.
Data from Swiss air quality monitoring platform IQAir showed that the concentration of PM2.5 in Delhi stood at 170 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), around 34 times the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual guideline value.
PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream, is among the major pollutants of concern due to its adverse health effects.
The concentration of PM10 was recorded at 126 µg/m³. Ozone levels stood at 31, nitrogen dioxide at 44.6, sulphur dioxide at 32 and carbon monoxide at 1,461.5 µg/m³, IQAir’s data showed.
The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that Delhi’s air quality is likely to slip into the ‘severe’ category during the day and will remain there over the subsequent few days.
Bureau Report
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