Delhi in grip of first smog episode of season may be longest in 4 years: Report
New Delhi: Green think-tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE) on Wednesday said the first severe smog episode has affected Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last for the next two days. Although the seasonal haze in Delhi is intense, the average daily contribution of smoke from farm fires from mid-October to November 8 has been the lowest in the past four years. CSE’s executive director (research and advocacy) Anumita Roychowdhury said, “Presumably, the first episode of the season has started with a combined effect of adverse weather conditions (cold and calm winds and inversion), stubble burning and firecrackers.” Compared to the first smog episode of the previous four years, the current smog corresponds to the first smog period of the 2018 and 2020 seasons – both lasting six days. The CSE said that if the situation does not improve, it may go beyond the eight-day haze of 2019. The average smog intensity so far this year is 329 micrograms per cubic meter per day, which is lower than the 2020 smog (7%) and 2019 smog (3%). It is more intense than the 2018 smog (around 9 per cent). The green think tank said this year’s haze could be prolonged despite relatively windy local conditions, due to a lack of pollution control measures in the city. “While very high concentrations of PM2.5 have attracted attention, levels of gases – ozone, CO or NO2 – remained elevated during this smog episode. Also, the ratio of SO2 to NO2 increased on Diwali night , which reflects the increasing pollution load from firecrackers. The concentration of PM2.5 on Diwali night (8 pm to 8 am) has been highest since 2017. The analysis is based on real-time data available from currently operational air quality monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR and the larger Indo-Gangetic plain. “On an average, the contribution of smoke to Delhi’s daily PM2.5 during mid-October to November 8 has been the lowest in the last four years. So far, it has been recorded at an average of 12 per cent per day, as against 17 per cent per day in 2020, 14 per cent per day in 2019 and 16 per cent per day in 2018 (as reported by SAFAR). CSE said. “If converted into absolute concentrations, the per day contribution of smoke so far this year was 26 micrograms per cubic meter as compared to 35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020, 40 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019 and 31 micrograms per cubic meter in 2018. meter was ,” it said. However, the peak contribution of smoke to Delhi’s PM level was recorded on November 7, when it reached 48 per cent. This is the second highest daily contribution percentage recorded since such an estimate was introduced by SAFAR in 2018. The highest single day contribution percentage has been recorded at 58 percent as on November 5, 2018. “The ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency. This requires immediate emergency action on major combustion sources (vehicles, industry, waste burning) and dust sources (construction and roads) to prevent further trapping of pollution when there is no air to remove it. We need a situation of pollution-source-wise and hotspot-wise action,” Roychowdhury said.
