Delhi continues to choke as air quality drops in the NCR region

Delhi continues to choke as it is facing the worst Air pollution, the capital's air quality is reportedly worsening by the day. The government-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) on Friday, October 18, said overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital with Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 was detected at 375, which falls in the ' very poor' category. 

Delhi's air quality dips

Major pollutant was detected at Mathura road, PM 2.5 was detected at 267 (hazardous), while in Dhirpur and Delhi University, the air quality dipped to the 'very poor' category at 316 and 309, respectively. In Chandni Chowk also, the air quality plunged to 'poor category' at 276 AQI.

"During morning walk we feel irritation in eyes due to dust and smog in the air. I also feel breathless after jogging for a few minutes. People are using more and more cars which is why pollution is increasing in Delhi," said Raj Kumar, a local. "I feel suffocated when I go for a walk at India Gate. The pollution is increasing in Delhi. I request the government to take requisite measures to curb the menace," said Sharanjeet Singh, another local.

The IMD has forecasted that the minimum and the maximum temperature in the capital will be around 21 and 33 degrees Celsius, respectively, throughout the day. The humidity will be 47 per cent with wind speed 10 kilometres per hour.

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Delhi CM says crop residue coming in from neighbouring states

Earlier, Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the crop burning has increased and is one of the reasons for Air Pollution. On October 12, he had said smoke from crop residue burning in neighbouring states has started reaching Delhi and the air quality has started deteriorating. "It has been widely reported that the smoke coming to Delhi is due to the burning of stubble in Karnal, Haryana," he had said. On Thursday, the Delhi Government said that real-time data to determine the contribution of local and non-local sources, including dust and stubble burning, to air pollution in the national capital region will be available from April next year. 

(With ANI inputs)

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