The air quality in Delhi-NCR turned “very poor” on Thursday due to falling temperatures, high humidity, and calm winds and is expected to deteriorate further. 

Delhi’s air quality index was 296 at 4 pm on Wednesday which increased to 307 around 7 am on Thursday morning.

The AQI recorded in Ghaziabad (350), Greater Noida (316) and Noida (304) was in the “very poor” category on Wednesday. Gurugram (279) was the cleanest with a “poor” AQI. 

According to SAFAR, a decrease in wind speed and ventilation coefficient for the next three days will foul up the air quality further.

Fire counts on Tuesday were estimated to be 250. “The stubble transport-level winds are north-westerly and favorable for pollutant intrusion,” said an expert.

“Pollution levels may increase due to light and calm winds, low temperatures, and high humidity. Light rains are possible around December 12. Delhi may get some relief then,” Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather, a private forecaster, said.

India 5th most vulnerable nation to climate crisis: Study

India is the fifth most vulnerable country globally to climate crisis, according to a new analysis.

The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 by environmental think tank Germanwatch on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, assessed 181 countries and quantified impacts of climate crisis on them through economic losses, losses to GDP and fatalities to arrive at a ranking.

India recorded the highest deaths due to climate crisis-led disasters and the second-highest amount of monetary losses in 2018, said the analysis.

(With inputs from PTI…)