Delhi AQI in very poor range but relief likely on Saturday

Delhi's air quality index (AQI) has deteriorated sharply to 339 on Friday with a toxic haze covering the city and neighbouring areas but relief is likely to come on Saturday as wind speed provides ventilation for the pollutants.

According to Safar India, the overall Delhi AQI is in the higher end of the very poor category and in some locations are in a higher category but now, will start to show signs of improvement.

An increase in surface and boundary layer wind speeds from Friday will continue for the next two days. The condition is forecast to improve significantly by Saturday to the lower end of the very poor category, and further improvement to the poor category is expected by November 24, Safar India said.

The high wind speed is likely to flush out accumulated pollutants over the Delhi region. The fire counts, as per SAFAR multi-satellite product estimate, is 141, with significant reduction from the last two days counts are partly due to satellites' inability to detect fire during cloudy conditions. The stubble transport-level winds are westerly and not very favorable for plume intrusion, thus no significant stubble impact is expecting for the next two days, the forecast said.

The extended range outlook indicates that a consecutive western disturbance is expected in the next few days and is likely to have a positive impact on the AQI of northwest India.IANS