New Delhi: Intermittent rains and winds last month saw the national capital breathe the cleanest air in four years, but officials have warned that the air quality will deteriorate sharply in November. According to Reuters, Delhi saw the cleanest air as the delayed end of the monsoon and a sharp increase in wind speed increased the concentration of dangerous, tiny airborne particles known as PM2.5 in an average of 72 cubic meters of air in October. ensured.
The figure came down from the average concentration of 126 recorded in October 2020 – 25 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit – according to data collected by the state-run Central Pollution Control Board. Typically, this is the time of year when air quality starts to deteriorate.
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Factors such as falling temperatures, fall in wind speed and farmers burning crop straw are expected to make the wind dangerous.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of the Center for Science and Environment think tank, said, “Due to frequent rains, most farmers did not get to burn crop residue, and now they have an even smaller window to dispose of crop waste. Is.”
The capital city’s air pollution is a reminder of the challenges India faced during the United Nations COP26 summit in Scotland, where countries came together to agree strategies to fight global warming.
At the global summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India will achieve net-zero carbon emissions target by 2070. Whereas scientists said India’s target is at least two decades late.
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