Scorching eyes, Freezing Lungs? Delhi- A gas chamber!!
Want to go for a run in the morning?
Yeah well! Just step out of your home and witness the hazy sight of the clouds lingering in, below the sky. The chilled air, gushing through you, with the view restricted to hardly a couple of feet. This year, Delhi has crossed all its bars in attaining the pinnacle of definitely being one of the most polluted cities in the world.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) put forth the four major reasons behind the sudden adrift of the pollution. The causes being the temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and atmospheric boundary layer. The worsening condition witnesses no light at the end of the tunnel over the next few days, a source from CPCB expert said.
“Meteorological conditions were such that all the local pollutants got trapped and lingered in the air. These four parameters had a direct impact on the pollution,” said D Saha, head of the air quality laboratory of CPCB.
It was on Monday afternoon when the temperature was around 30 degree Celsius, the PM2.5 level was just twice, instead of beyond the permissible limit.
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This situation was followed by Tuesday, the second coldest day of the season, when the temperature in the morning dropped to 16.1 degree Celsius, then the PM2.5 level triggered almost 9-10 times of the bearable limit!
And finally, Wednesday was marked as the coldest day of the season, with the minimum temperature being at 14 degree Celsius.
The poor wind speed also triggers the pollution as the city demands a minimum wind speed of 5m/s to dispose of or disperse the pollutants in the air. However, the wind speed decreased to 1m/s between the 4am and 5am on Tuesday, exacerbating the situation. During this time, the level was of PM2.5 at the stations such as DTU, Mathura Road and Delhi University’s North Campus.
“The condition was aggravated by north-westerly winds, which are bringing in smoke from the stubble burning regions of Punjab and Haryana. The south-easterly winds are helping the moisture to build up. We apprehend that similar conditions would prevail over the next two to three days,” said A Sudhakar, member secretary of CPCB.
The Atmospheric boundary level (ABL) is also one of the grave reasons for the pollution. The ABL is believed to form a ceiling above us, which restricts the circulation of air within it. The higher the ABL, the lesser the pollution!
Relative humidity also triggers the pollution as it contains high moisture, which traps the air along with the air pollutants within it. The Easterly winds are responsible for the increase in the humidity in Delhi, since the last few days. Humidity is at its peak in the morning, which is the gripper of pollution.
CPCB data also revealed that on Tuesday between 3 am to 8 am, the PM2.5 level was responsible to raise up to 10 times the permissible limit.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal thus called Delhi a gas chamber and even ordered the closing down of the primary kid’s school, along with hampering the children’s outdoor activity during high pollution clutter.
The government of Delhi is planning to re-launch the “odd-even scheme” in the city, with restricting the trucks to enter into the city in case of an emergency. “We appeal to the people of Delhi to avoid morning and evening walks,” Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had said yesterday.
Just like today’s relationships status, Delhi’s too has become unclear!
