Thick haze shrouds capital, air quality still 'poor'

The national capital was engulfed in a thick haze today even as extremely high level of suspended particulate matters kept the air quality "poor" with the situation likely to persist for few more days.
The average levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (can penetrate deep into the lungs) were 157 and 264 microgram per cubic metre respectively, much more than the safe limits of 60 and 100.
The figures by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) is a round up of figures from 10 stations across the capital.
According to a senior IMD official, the haze is a result of falling temperature, moisture and calm wind movement. There is no possibility of wind blowing away the pollutants at least before November 5.

"The minimum as well as the maximum temperature has come down considerably. These coupled with moisture and lack of wind have made the particles stagnant. The situation may worsen during diwali," the official said.
Data from Gurgaon and Noida showed that the intensity of the pollution was high across the NCR region. While PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels were 252 and 258 in Gurgaon, the same were 269 and 259 in Noida.

As per Delhi Pollution Control Committe data, west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh locality breached the safe PM 2.5 levels by a huge margin with it being recorded at 468 at around 11.50 AM.

PM 10 for the same was 440.
Air of Anand Vihar continued to carry heavy amount of pollutants with PM 2.5 and PM 10 recorded at 199 and 503 at 2.30 PM respectively, which fell in the "hazardous" category of World Air Quality Index.
Hazardous comes along with the warning of possibile serious health effects of the immediate population.
A team of researchers led by the University of Surrey in UK recently assessed how Delhi's landscape, weather, energy consumption culture, and growing urban population combines to elevate concentrations of air pollutants, including ultra-fine particles, the most harmful to human health.

Coupled with Delhi's densely packed architecture, and varying building heights the 'breathability' of the city is inhibited by its weather conditions, they said.
According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report released in May last year, Delhi was ranked as the most polluted city in the world.