Ahead of Diwali Delhi's Air Quality Turns Very Poor, Do You Know AQI of Guwahati?

New Delhi: The air level in the capital turned very bad on Tuesday, ahead of Diwali according to Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

According to the air bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital stood at 303 on Tuesday. It is expected that for the next two days it will be very bad. On Tuesday, stubble pollution was only 6 percent. However, the cases of stubble burning have come down significantly as compared to Monday.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) too said that the air quality over Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the lower end of the ''Poor'' to ''Very Poor'' categories on November 2 and November 3.

''The air quality is likely to deteriorate on November 5 and November 6 but remain in the "Very Poor" category,'' it added.

Blowing wind can help in getting relief from the air pollution despite the increase cases of stubble burning. Reportedly, on Tuesday, stubble was burnt at 1789 places but the stubble pollution was only 6 percent. However, the burning of stubble on November 4 will also affect the air of the capital as from the same date, the direction of the winds will turn north-westerly, due to which the stubble smoke will start reaching the capital.

What the air quality here is in Guwahati?

The current air quality index in Guwahati is 128 which can be considered as unhealthy for sensitive groups. PM2.5 concentration in Guwahati air is currently 4.6 times above the WHO annual air quality guideline value.

Last year, on the occasion of diwali, the air quality had deteriorated. The people witnessed a thick layer of smog. The AQI had spiked to 173 at 1 pm on Sunday from 108 at 1pm on Saturday which was an increase of 65 points. The particulate matter (PM) stood at PM 2.5. A day after diwali, the city recorded a presence of 481 microgram per cubic meter PM 2.5 pollutant and 476 microgram per cubic meter PM 10 pollutant on Sunday.

Generally, the air quality is categorized as good in the range of 0-50, satisfactory 51-100, moderate 101-200, poor 201-300, very poor 310-400 and severe 401-500

Firecrackers bursting guidelines for Guwahati

Recently, the Pollution Control Board (PCB) has published guidelines stating, a complete ban on selling and bursting any traditional firecrackers until further notice. The time frame has been set up by the PCB for 2 hours maximum, from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and only Green Crackers are allowed to be sold and purchased in the state.

Meanwhile, crackers are allowed for Chhat puja from 6 am to 8 am and on Christmas Eve as well from 11:55 pm to 12:30 am.

Earlier, there was an imposition of a time limit on bursting crackers for the coming festivals like Diwali, Chhat Puja, and Christmas eve.

''The order banning the use and sale of firecrackers will remain in force during Dipawali,'' a senior official of Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) had said here on Sunday.

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