After Dust Storms, Delhi Braces For Winter-Like 'Very Poor' Toxic Air This Summer

Parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been experiencing dust storms for the past couple of days. With more dust storms predicted for the coming days, the NCR which is home to some of the most polluted cities in the world is bracing for more pollution. The dust has pushed the PM 2.5 levels in the air to winter levels.

On Monday, the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was ¡°very poor¡±, something that has been common in the winters.

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"Right now we are in the thunderstorm season. High-speed winds are raising a lot of dust but we think it is only transient and will change in a day or two, when it rains," V.K Soni, an India Meteorological Department official, told AFP.

According to Skymet Weather, the air quality has worsened due to a combination of dusty winds blowing from Rajasthan, stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana and the forest fires in Uttarakhand.

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Despite the widespread rains on Monday night, according to scientists at Skymet, the pollution will continue to remain in ¡°poor¡± to ¡°very poor¡± category at least until the next two days.

In a related development, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to furnish a status report on the remedial action to be taken for curbing air pollution that results from stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.

The bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel noted that the Ministry had failed to comply with previous orders and ordered that the report should be furnished within two weeks.