Air quality in the national capital was recorded in the moderate category on Thursday but is likely to deteriorate in the next two days with a rise in farm fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana.
A total of 407 farm fires were recorded on Thursday in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh with 229 such fires detected in Punjab alone, showed data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).Haryana recorded 98 fires and Uttar Pradesh recorded 68 such incidents on Thursday, stated reports.
On the previous day, 272 fires were detected in these five states collectively. Ministry of Earth Sciences’ forecast body SAFAR said that Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) is in the moderate category with PM10 as the main pollutant. According to the Decision Support System (DSS) developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology-Pune, the ventilation index and the wind speed in the national capital will be lower than average in the next two days, which is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants.
However, the air quality is likely to improve owing to the rainfall activities on October 17 and 18, which is favourable for removal of pollutants, IITM said, adding that the air quality is likely to remain largely in moderate category. Stubble burning in the neighbouring states significantly contributes to the air pollution in Delhi. Since October 6, Punjab has recorded 1,008 farm fires while Haryana had 463 fires till date.
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