This year, the month of November in Delhi has been the most polluted in the last five years. From 2016 till now, this month has recorded the highest number of days with severe wind. Till Sunday, the people of Delhi did not get good, satisfactory and moderate air quality even on a single day out of 28 days of the month. For the remaining two days also, the air of Delhi is going to remain in the severe or very poor category.
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that in November 2016, there were 10 days in the severe category, that is, with an air index above 400. This number was seven in the year 2017, five in 2018, seven in 2019 and nine in 2020.
In November this year, the number of days in the severe category air index reached 12 till Sunday. The air index on 14 days was recorded in the very poor category and two days in the poor category.
According to environmental experts, the air has been so bad this year due to the late withdrawal of monsoon and also the late onset of stubble burning incidents in the north Indian states. The cases of stubble burning usually start coming down to zero level by mid-November, whereas till the end of November this year also it has only reduced, not ended.
This season saw a slow start to stubble burning, says Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of the Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Usually, by November, the cases of stubble burning start decreasing in Punjab and Haryana. But this time in October these cases were not much but started increasing in the first week of November. However, the peak of pollution is mainly due to local pollutants in Delhi-NCR.
According to Anumita Roy Chowdhury, "Currently, the share of stubble smoke in Delhi's PM 2.5 is just two to six per cent, which means that the severe pollution levels we are seeing now are the result of local pollution in Delhi.
Therefore, strict action is needed against the local pollution sources. At the same time, VK Soni, head of the Meteorological Department's Environment and Research Center, said that along with the stubble fire, the local weather this month was also unfavourable for the spread of pollutants.
Delhi saw several days this month when slow and calm winds were recorded. VK Soni said, "While November is usually a bad month for pollution, this time we also saw slow and calm winds over several days." The pollution level is likely to remain in the upper end of the very poor category.
November 1 – 281
November 2 – 303
November 3 – 314
November 4 – 399
November 5 – 469
November 6 – 437
November 7 – 428
November 8 – 390
November 9 – 404
November 10 – 372
November 11 – 411
November 12 – 471
November 13 – 437
November 14 – 330
November 15 – 353
November 16 – 403
November 17 – 375
November 18 – 347
November 19 – 381
November 20 – 374
November 21 – 349
November 22 – 311
November 23 – 290
November 24 – 361
November 25 – 400
November 26 – 406
November 27 – 402
November 28 – 405
