It’s hard to breathe in Delhi! On Friday, the air emergency of the national capital took a toxic turn and on Saturday, the air quality dipped even more. The AQI in Delhi was 556 asof 8.54 a.m., according to IQAir.
The toxic chemicals have thickened the smog and have sent the air quality to its worst. With this, authorities advised people to limit outdoor activities and told government and privateoffices to reduce vehicle use by at least 30%.
An increase in emissions from farm fires and unfavourable meteorological conditions are to be blamed.
According to the Senior Scientist of the Indian Meteorological Department, visibility in Delhi will remain poor for the next three days due to fog and smog (IMD).
According to a subcommittee on Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), meteorological conditions will be highly unfavourable for pollutant dispersion until November 18, and agencies involvedmust be fully prepared to implement measures under the 'emergency' category.
While Delhi was experiencing an "air emergency," two other major cities, Mumbai and Kolkata, witnessed high levels of air pollution.
According to IQAir (a Swiss-based climate group that is also a technology partner of the United Nations Environmental Program), Mumbai and Kolkata, along with Delhi, are among the world'stop ten most polluted cities.
While Delhi tops the list with an AQI of 556, Kolkata ranks fourth with 177 AQI and Mumbai ranks sixth overall. Lahore in Pakistan, and Chengdu in China, are also among the cities with thehighest AQI indices.
According to IQAir, the following cities have the worst air quality indicators and pollution rankings (as of 8:54 am):
1). Delhi, India (AQI: 556)
2) Lahore, Pakistan (AQI: 354)
3) Sofia, Bulgaria (AQI: 178)
4) Kolkata, India (AQI:177)
5) Zagreb, Croatia (AQI: 173)
6) Mumbai, India (AQI: 169)
7) Belgrade, Serbia (AQI: 165)
8) Chengdu, China (AQI: 165)
9) Skopje, North Macedonia (AQI: 164)
10) Krakow, Poland (AQI: 160)