Delhi's Air Quality Woes: Monitoring System Faces Setbacks

After a short-lived improvement, Delhi's air quality plummeted back to 'poor'. As pollutants spike, the city's monitoring system struggles with outdated data. Current readings are alarming, with significant health risks from PM2.5 and PM10 particles. The system's data inaccuracies hinder timely air quality assessment and management efforts.

Delhi's air quality, after a temporary improvement, has once again deteriorated to the 'poor' category, reflecting a challenging environmental situation. On Saturday, the city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 233, worsening from Friday's 197. The primary pollutants contributing to this decline were PM2.5 and PM10, posing health threats due to their ability to infiltrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

Reports from 38 air quality monitoring stations indicated that air quality severely declined, with two stations rating 'very poor', 30 as 'poor', and the remainder showing 'moderate'. According to projections by the Air Quality Early Warning System, the air quality is expected to remain 'poor' over the weekend and potentially reach 'very poor' levels by Tuesday.

The city's decision-making in air quality management is further complicated by the outdated data of the Decision Support System (DSS), which hasn't been updated since late November. A Commission for Air Quality Management official suggested that the system is still under development, and data inaccuracies are impeding its full commission, pending essential revisions. This delay hampers strategic pollution management and mitigation efforts in the region.

(With inputs from agencies.)