Toxic Air Blankets Delhi as Pollution Levels Reach Dangerous Heights

(MENAFN) Air pollution in India's capital, Delhi, reached extraordinary levels this week, with PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 66 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit, while monitoring systems failed to record some of the most severe pollution readings.

The data gaps emerged after air quality deteriorated sharply following Sunday's Diwali celebrations. Reports indicated that 45 of the city's 59 monitoring stations failed to provide hourly measurements for at least one pollutant during the period.

India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) explained that its automated monitoring equipment was programmed to exclude particulate matter readings exceeding its calibrated maximum of 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter. Consequently, measurements above that threshold were left out of the corresponding 24-hour pollution averages.

The authority also confirmed that it was examining ways to handle readings that exceed the technical limits for which the monitoring system was originally developed.

Meanwhile, pollution measurements in Delhi's Punjabi Bagh neighborhood reached 993 micrograms per cubic meter during the early hours of Monday, according to local reports. This represented approximately 66.2 times the WHO's recommended 24-hour PM2.5 guideline of 15 micrograms per cubic meter.

However, the comparison involves a short-term pollution measurement against a guideline calculated over a full 24-hour period.

Separate monitoring figures from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee reportedly indicated even higher concentrations, with particulate matter levels reaching 5,000 micrograms per cubic meter at several monitoring locations during the same period.

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