New Delhi: Delhi saw a very polluted month this November, with no improvement from Novembers over the last few years.
The average AQI in November was 372, The Indian Express reported. This is the second highest for the month since 2017; the highest was in 2021 at 377. Last year’s average for November was 320.
For 10 days in the last month, Delhi recorded a 24-hour average AQI in the ‘severe’ category (401 to 500).
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has said that though there has been a marked decrease in instances of stubble burning, this has not translated to reduced air pollution. The reduction did not “reflect as much in the daily average AQI of Delhi/NCR during November, primarily owing to highly unfavourable meteorology and climate conditions prevailing over the region particularly since the last week of October, with low speed winds from the northwesterly direction, very low rainfall and near-calm wind conditions over Delhi which badly impeded the dispersion of pollutants, thus reflecting in a much higher AQI during the month of November 2023 as compared to the November months in preceding years”, CAQM said.
In the past several years, a number of studies have pointed out how the air quality in Delhi is having a serious impact on residents’ well-being, including reducing life expectancy.
