New Delhi, Oct 17 (UNI) For the fourth consecutive day, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category, with forecasts warning of a further dip to ‘very poor’ on Diwali day as traffic congestion and changing weather conditions worsened pollution levels.
Heavy traffic snarls across city roads ahead of Diwali festivities have aggravated the situation. Key junctions such as ITO, Moolchand Flyover, Akshardham Flyover, and the Delhi–Meerut Highway witnessed long hours of gridlock throughout the day.
At 4 p.m. on Friday, the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin recorded a reading of 254, up from 245 on Thursday, 233 on Wednesday, and 211 on Tuesday.
Experts attribute the declining air quality to a combination of adverse weather and local pollution sources, including vehicular emissions, road dust, and smoke carried by south and southwesterly winds.
“After the withdrawal of monsoon, cold and dry winds start blowing from the west and northwest,” said Mahesh Palawat, Vice President–Meteorology at Skymet Weather. “During the night, winds remain largely calm, which causes pollutants to accumulate near the surface, worsening the air quality index.”
Palawat added that the situation is likely to deteriorate further as the festival approaches. “As we approach Deepavali, a gradual rise in firecracker burning is expected. Unfortunately, the wind systems aren’t strong enough to disperse pollutants, so the trend of poor air quality is likely to continue over the next few days,” he said, predicting the presence of smog in the early morning hours on the eve of Diwali and for 24–48 hours afterward.
According to Palawat, local pollution sources will dominate this year’s air quality trends. “Local pollution—from vehicles, road dust, and other urban sources—will play a major role this year. Stubble burning, however, is unlikely to be a significant factor since the winds are blowing from the west. That means smoke from Punjab, north Haryana, and Pakistan won’t reach Delhi this time,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police said it had deployed additional personnel and special drives to manage traffic during the festive rush. “We have deployed our maximum staff. Motorcycles are patrolling, and officers are continuously monitoring the field,” said Dinesh K. Gupta, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
“We’re removing vehicles parked on roads, issuing challans through our app, and have prepared area-specific traffic plans for Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, and Connaught Place. Special drives are also being conducted to check drunken driving, with teams using alcohol meters in coordination with local police,” he added.
