Amid COVID-19, Delhi air quality improves to ‘moderate’ after light rains

Pollution in Delhi: Days after Diwali, there is respite in Delhi as the air quality has improved. For the past few weeks, the national capital was witnessing poor or severe levels of air quality due to increased pollutants in the air. This was only augmented by the firecrackers on Diwali, despite the ban placed by the Supreme Court. However, after the city witnessed rains on Sunday, the pollution settled a little, bringing the air quality on Tuesday to moderate, according to the data shared by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Talking to news agency ANI, residents of the city stated that the rains helped in settling the pollution, leading to better visibility, easier breathing and lesser irritation in the eyes.

Due to the setting in of winter, the stagnance in the air is causing pollutants to remain trapped in their place, leading to decreased visibility and deterioration in the quality of air. Added to this the pollution from cars and stubble burning in neighbouring states, and the winter months become difficult for residents of the national capital.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board website, the air quality in Delhi as at 10 am on Tuesday was at 165, falling in the moderate category. This was a significant improvement from Monday evening, when the CPCB had stated that the air quality in Delhi, based on the average of the past 24 hours, was in the poor category, with a value of 221.

While the news is a respite for Delhi citizens, the air quality is still far from desirable since moderate category air quality can cause breathing discomfort to citizens having asthma or heart and lung diseases.