NEW DELHI - Cooler temperatures and
lighter wind trapped heavy smog over New Delhi on
Wednesday, pushing pollution to "severe" levels in many places
with no immediate relief in sight, government agencies said.
The overall air quality index (AQI) in the city was 494,
according to the monitoring agency SAFAR.
The index measures the levels of airborne PM 2.5 - particles
that can reach deep into the lungs. Anything above 60 is
considered unhealthy.
With the cool season setting in, the city was likely to
suffer for weeks.
"Now that it is getting colder, air is not rising high
enough to disperse pollutants. The whole trapping is happening
close to the ground," said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, an executive
director at Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based
research and advocacy organisation.
The Central Pollution Control Board said pollution levels
had touched 500 in some parts of the city, meaning danger for
healthy people, not just those suffering from existing
conditions.
Farmers burning stubble in their fields in areas around the
city have been generating clouds of acrid smoke, SAFAR said, and
the smog could get even worse.
"No sudden recovery is expected under this condition at
least for the next two days and AQI is likely to deteriorate
further," it said.
The city government is restricting private cars until Nov.
15 with an "odd-even" system based on the licence plates but Roy
Chowdhury was not optimistic it would help much, given the
weather.
"Emergency measures cannot clear the air up when there is no
wind to blow pollution away. It is a day-to-day battle right
now," she said.