Delhi Suffers Under Double Whammy Of Rising Pollution And Third Wave Of Covid-19

The national capital is under the grip of increased pollution and rising coronavirus infection. On Thursday Delhi's AQI hit the 'severe' category.

Representational Photo: AFP

New Delhi: The national capital seems to be reeling under the twin problems of increased pollution and the third wave of coronavirus infection. On Thursday, Delhi witnessed the worst air quality levels, and the air quality index entered the 'severe' zone. The PTI report said that on Wednesday night, a dense layer of haze covered the city due to meteorological conditions such as calm winds and low temperatures which trap pollutants and smoke from stubble burning in neighbouring states. The haze even reduced visibility to merely 600 metres at the Safdarjung Observatory. According to the report

• PM10 levels-  in Delhi-NCR stood at 561 micrograms per cubic meter ( g/m3) at 8 am. It is the highest level since November 15 last year, when it was 637 g/m3, according to CPCB data.
• PM2 Levels- the tiny particles that can even enter the bloodstream reached  347 g/m3. PM2.5 levels up to 60 g/m3 are considered safe
• AQI- in Delhi has reached 461 at 8 am. It was 279 at 10 am on Wednesday. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also stated that the surge in Covid-19 cases can be called the 'third wave.' Delhi reported over 6,000 coronavirus cases within 24 hours, for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. "There has been a rise in Covid-19 cases. We can call this the third wave of Covid cases here. From September-October, the cases began to decline. We are monitoring the situation and will take all necessary actions. There is no dearth of beds in the hospital and medical infrastructure," said Kejriwal. Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had also stated the same thing but said that the spike could also be attributed to aggressive Covid-19 testing in the last 15 days. Despite the problems, people were seen bursting firecrackers on the occasion of Karwa Chauth.