Delhi AQI continues to surge over 380, advisory issued by SAFAR yet again

On Saturday, Delhi woke up yet again to 'very poor' category air quality as the AQI index docked over 388 with PM 2.5 at 235 and PM 10 at 360. Delhi has been seeing this dip in air quality for the past week and Friday was the third consecutive day that the AQI index remained in the 'very poor' category. Experts have suggested that the AQI index is likely to shoot up in the severe category by Saturday. As Delhi steps into the peak of its winter season, weather experts say that the cold, dense winter air leads to more pollutants being trapped near the ground. 

Read: Delhi AQI at 'very poor' for the third consecutive day, situation likely to worsen

The SAFAR model attributes the rise in AQI to a decrease in ventilation due to surfacing of calmer winds in the coming days which would now be conducive for the pollutant accumulation, SAFAR said. 

The maximum temperature in Delhi is predicted as 24 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature as 8 degrees Celcius. The humidity in the capital city will be at around 46 per cent. Experts have also said that the visibility is likely to take a dip as a shallow fog will envelop the region throughout the day. In other major metropolitan cities like Pune, Mumbai and Ahemdabad however AQI is recorded at 123, 149 and 109 respectively. 

Read: Delhi AQI at 'very poor' category, people battle to breathe

Advisory by SAFAR

SAFAR has asked the people residing in Delhi to take appropriate precautions. It specifically asked the ‘Sensitive Group’ of people to avoid activities that can cause exertion. In its advisory, it asked the asthmatic people to do less intense workout, seek medical attention if required. The advisory also stated that if a person has heart palpitations with severe shortness of breath, chest pain or fainting one should seek emergency medical attention. An Air Quality Index between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous.

 Read:Babul Supriyo: Centre to install air purifier towers to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR

(with ANI inputs)