Delhi's Air Quality Index Surges Unexpectedly, Drops 155 Points Without Rain

New Delhi: The city's air quality index (AQI), which Thursday had plunged to its worst Oct level in three years at 373, unexpectedly improved Friday to 218 — a drop of 155 points.While experts said the reason behind the sharp improvement without rain was unknown, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa attributed it to the deployment of over 1,200 enforcement teams, 390 anti-smog guns, 280 sprinklers and 3,000 km of daily mechanical road sweeping."Winds were almost calm on Friday but light winds of 5-7 kmph prevailed for a few hours. Unlike Thursday, humidity levels were less. Moisture traps pollutants while a reduction in humidity levels aids dispersion," a Met official said, adding some parts of Delhi-NCR received light rainfall on Thursday, but no rain occurred on Friday.You Can Also Check:Delhi AQI|Weather in Delhi|Gold Rate Today in Delhi|Silver Rate Today in DelhiSunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst of think tank EnviroCatalysts, said, "Slightly better dispersion and changed wind direction can explain a little drop in pollution levels.Contribution from stubble burning might have also come down compared to Thursday. However, such a high and sudden drop without rain is a bit complex to understand. We will need a bit more research to be able to fully explain the fluctuations in air quality over the past few days."CPCB data shows Wazirpur was the lone station on Friday with an AQI in the ‘very poor' category. All other stations were either in ‘poor' or ‘moderate' category.On Thursday, Burari Crossing recorded an AQI of 399 in the extreme end of ‘very poor', which improved to 183 in the ‘moderate' category on Friday. Similarly, Anand Vihar saw a dip in AQI from a ‘severe' 410 to a ‘poor' 249 within 24 hours.The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, which functions under the Union ministry of earth sciences, had on Thursday predicted Friday's AQI would likely stay ‘very poor'. Later, on Friday, it stated, "The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor' category from Nov 1 to 3 and six days thereafter."Sirsa, who chaired a review meeting with all departments Friday, said, "Our entire govt machinery, including MCD, DDA, NDMC and DSIDC, has been working in complete coordination. As a result, Delhi's AQI stands at 218, compared to 357 on the same day last year. This reflects science-driven action and enforcement are delivering measurable results."He said 443 teams (1,200 personnel) are actively monitoring and curbing open waste-burning while 378 teams (1,000 personnel) and 578 teams (1,500 personnel) are in place to check dust and vehicular pollution control, respectively.These teams are patrolling day and night across ward and industrial areas to ensure strict prevention of open burning incidents, said Sirsa."Let me clarify — Delhi's 40 automatic air monitoring stations are tamper-proof and fully automatic. Data cannot be altered by anyone. Monitoring is done by DPCC, CPCB and IMD, and results are simultaneously published on multiple platforms. Prediction-based reporting around data manipulation is irresponsible and factually incorrect," the minister said.Sirsa also took stock of repairs of unpaved road coverings and potholes, directing that action should be initiated immediately wherever pending. Dust suppression along road networks is critical for sustained air quality improvement, he stressed.Residents, meanwhile, remain wary of toxic air. "On Thursday, as I landed in Delhi and drove out in a cab, I saw the grey sky and loudly thought I was going to rain. The driver said laconically, ‘Pradooshan, saab' (it's pollution, sir). I sensed the helplessness of Delhiites in his voice. The entire city wears its deathly grey parlour with a weary resignation of a patient on his deathbed. This is a city that is dying. Those about to meet their maker reminisce about the mistakes they made in their lives, and regret them.This city cannot even do that. It is comatose."