Manav Mander
Ludhiana, October 22
At the onset of winter every year, burning of paddy straw is blamed for poor air quality in Delhi. But according to the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, stable weather conditions and bursting of crackers during the festive season are the real causes behind Delhi's poor air quality around this time of the year.
Expert says...
A PAU expert says it is not stubble-burning, but stable weather conditions and bursting of crackers that is behind poor air quality in Delhi.
Giving reasons, Dr Pavneet Kaur Kingra, head, Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, said crop residue was burnt during wheat harvesting season also, but it had no impact on Delhi's air quality.
"This indicates that degradation of air quality in Delhi during November to January is not due to movement of pollutants and smoke from Punjab, but due to locking and accumulation of its own enhanced pollutant levels further triggered by the festive season under stable weather conditions," she said.
Dr Kingra further added that Delhi was considered as world's most polluted capital and was at 11th position in the world in terms of air pollution. The analysis indicated that on an average, air quality of Delhi remains poor for most period of the year as annual average AQI during 2016-2021 was observed to be poor ( gt;200) in all years during this period except 2020, during which it was in the 'moderately polluted' category (AQI = 177).
The analysis indicated that on an average, the air quality in Delhi was 'very poor' from November to January (AQI: 323 to 359), 'poor' from February to May (AQI: 200 to 249) and was 'moderately polluted'/'satisfactory' only during rainy period.
"During the rainy season, air quality becomes better as pollutants mix/fall with rainwater and again AQI starts increasing with cessation of monsoon rains and these pollutants keep on accumulating in the surrounding air under the stable winter weather conditions till January. As the temperature starts increasing in February and March, their dispersion with air movement starts and air quality starts improving. This indicates that there are meagre chances of movement of pollutants/smoke from Punjab towards Delhi during October and November," Harleen Kaur, assistant professor from the department, said.
However, although crop residue burning in Punjab does not affect air quality in Delhi but it can have severe implications on air quality in the surrounding areas with harmful health effects, said Sukhjeet Kaur, another assistant professor from the department.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/ixeyghb
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