Delhi gasps; other cities have plenty of reason to be breathless too

As the national capital gasps for clean air, various cities across India have been experiencing fluctuations in their air qualities. This comes as the winter season is at our doorsteps and places like Delhi usually suffer due to multiple reasons during this time from causes like smog, stubble burning, and bursting crackers. The Supreme Court of India had also declared a Public Health emergency in the national capital till November 5 where construction activities have also been banned. 

Polluted regions in India 

As per the data from the Central Pollution Control Board of India, the Loni area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh showcases a very poor Air Quality Index (AQI) at around 340. On the other hand, the PM10 (or the particulate matter with the diameter of 10 micrometers or less) in this region hovers around 329 units. Similarly, the overall AQI in Patna, Bihar has been around 323 units on Wednesday. The poor air quality in Patna and other parts of Bihar has been attributed to the result of bursting firecrackers on the occasion of the popular festival celebrated in the state, ‘Chhath Puja’. The air quality in Muzaffarpur, Bihar is also poor with the AQI being at around 288 units in the region.  

Read: India: Here are 10 places severely polluted apart from Delhi on Nov 4

The overall Air Quality Index in Delhi on Wednesday ranged in the poor category with around 249 PM2.5 units. The other areas in Delhi like Bawana and Burari showed an AQI of 284 PM2.5 units and 227 PM2.5 units respectively. Greater Noida, on the other hand, shows a trend ranging around 284 units in the poor category on Wednesday.  

Read: Delhi HC refuses media gag, orders probe without coercive restrictions

The Lalbagh area in Lucknow falls in the 'very poor' category as the AQI in this area hovers around 365 PM2.5 units. The Talkatora Industrial area in Lucknow also shooting up to very poor has an AQI of 337 units.

Moving to the South, the Velacherry area of Chennai has a poor AQI of 238 units whereas Hyderabad's Sanathnagar AQI hover around 285 units. Mumbai's Worli, on the other hand, falls under the good to satisfactory category with the AQI at 105 PM2.5 units. Patiala in Punjab falls in the very poor category with the AQI at 391 PM2.5 units. Haryana's Sonipat meanwhile has an AQI ranging at 278 units of PM2.5.

Cyclone Threat in Gujarat 

As the air quality worsens in many parts of the northern belt in India, the west coast is likely to see heavy rains as the IMD (India Meteorological Department) has predicted the Cyclone Maha is likely to skirt the Gujarat coast. This comes after Cyclone Vayu had already wreaked havoc in many parts of the Saurashtra Peninsula in June. Also, Cyclone Fani hit India’s eastern coast in the month of April and May which was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Indian state of Odisha since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. 

Read: 'Want us to send you to the US to see?' SC unsparing on Delhi, UP govts

Read: Rajkot pitch will be better than Delhi: Rohit Sharma ahead of 2nd T20