Delhi’s air quality turned “severe” on Diwali with stubble burning accounting for 32 per cent of the city’s PM2.5 pollution and calm winds worsening the situation as they allowed accumulation of pollutants, weather officials said.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitor, SAFAR, said, “Even a small increase in local additional emissions is likely to have significant deterioration impact on Sunday and Monday.”
It said peak levels of PM10 and PM2.5 are expected between 1 am and 6 am in case of additional internal emissions.
Earlier, it had said that the PM2.5 concentration in Delhi on Diwali is likely to be the “lowest” in the last four years if no firecrackers are burnt.
The city recorded an overall AQI of 414 on Saturday, which falls in the “severe” category.
The 24-hour average AQI was 339 on Friday and 314 on Thursday.
Delhi recorded a 24-hour…