Pollution levels in the capital remained on the higher side on the first day of the Delhi government's odd-even scheme. On Friday, the levels of both Particulate Matter (PM) 10 and PM2.5 showed an upward trend since morning and the air quality ranged from 'poor' to 'very poor'.
On the website of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), PM 10 (particles below 10 microns in diameter) and PM 2.5 (below 2.5 microns, and capable of entering human lung and blood tissues due to smaller size) were recorded at 273.6 and 125.9 micrograms per cubic metre at 6:30 PM.
SAFAR, under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, is giving hourly updates of the concentration of both the pollutants, along with PM1 and Ozone (O3), from April 15.
On Friday, when the second round of the road rationing scheme kicked in, the pollution levels of pollution showed an increasing trend.
At 8 am the average value of PM2.5 was recorded at 109 and continued to increase up to 122 micrograms per cubic metre at 4 pm. It then started decreasing at 5 pm and was recorded at 120ug/m3.
"The main reason behind high pollution levels is that the wind speed has gone down (leading to less dispersion of pollutants). There is another phenomenon called background contribution in which sources (emissions) travel in the upwind direction from towns near Delhi such as Panipat, Bahudargarh, Sonipat, etc. So contribution of these sources is high today," said Sumit Sharma, Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Incidentally, before the start of odd-even, Delhi has been mostly recording 'good' and 'moderate' air quality days in the month of April.
At individual monitoring stations of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the air quality data showed an increase in pollution levels and ranged between 'moderate' to 'poor' and even 'very poor' at one of the locations.
At Anand Vihar, the nodal point of inter-state buses, the PM2.5 and PM10 levels were recorded at 331 and 350 at 6 PM respectively, much above the prescribed limit of 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre.
Sharma added that any impact of odd-even on pollution levels can be assessed by early next week.
The DPCC is monitoring at 109 locations, including 20 residential areas, 15 industrial areas, and 21 areas on Delhi's borders. Besides its six monitoring stations, the data is also being collected through a mobile van, and hand-held devices. The figures will only be released on Saturday.
On the website of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), PM 10 (particles below 10 microns in diameter) and PM 2.5 (below 2.5 microns, and capable of entering human lung and blood tissues due to smaller size) were recorded at 273.6 and 125.9 micrograms per cubic metre at 6:30 PM.
SAFAR, under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, is giving hourly updates of the concentration of both the pollutants, along with PM1 and Ozone (O3), from April 15.
On Friday, when the second round of the road rationing scheme kicked in, the pollution levels of pollution showed an increasing trend.
At 8 am the average value of PM2.5 was recorded at 109 and continued to increase up to 122 micrograms per cubic metre at 4 pm. It then started decreasing at 5 pm and was recorded at 120ug/m3.
"The main reason behind high pollution levels is that the wind speed has gone down (leading to less dispersion of pollutants). There is another phenomenon called background contribution in which sources (emissions) travel in the upwind direction from towns near Delhi such as Panipat, Bahudargarh, Sonipat, etc. So contribution of these sources is high today," said Sumit Sharma, Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Incidentally, before the start of odd-even, Delhi has been mostly recording 'good' and 'moderate' air quality days in the month of April.
At individual monitoring stations of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the air quality data showed an increase in pollution levels and ranged between 'moderate' to 'poor' and even 'very poor' at one of the locations.
At Anand Vihar, the nodal point of inter-state buses, the PM2.5 and PM10 levels were recorded at 331 and 350 at 6 PM respectively, much above the prescribed limit of 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre.
Sharma added that any impact of odd-even on pollution levels can be assessed by early next week.
The DPCC is monitoring at 109 locations, including 20 residential areas, 15 industrial areas, and 21 areas on Delhi's borders. Besides its six monitoring stations, the data is also being collected through a mobile van, and hand-held devices. The figures will only be released on Saturday.
