New Delhi, Nov 25 (UNI) The ash plume from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano, which erupted on Sunday morning, nearly for the first time in 12,000 years and migrated towards India, reaching the country’s northwestern parts on Monday night, is unlikely to impact Delhi’s air quality, according to a senior official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Speaking to UNI, M Mohapatra, IMD’s director general, on Tuesday, said, the ash from the volcano is in the “upper-levels, so we will not see significant impact near the surface.”
He added that weather is a lower atmosphere phenomenon, while the ash’s presence at altitudes between 8.5 km and 15 km (about15,000-45,000 feet) poses no threat to the ground and does not affect the air quality near the surface.
The top IMD official noted that the ash cloud is drifting away and is expected to leave India between 7:30 and 8:00 pm on Tuesday, in line with the afternoon forecast.
Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said the ash cloud will not “immediately impact” Delhi’s AQI but advised keeping a close watch on air quality levels. Jha told the media that the overall impact of the eruption of the long-dormant Ethiopian volcano will be in the form of ash clouds and will not immediately affect the AQI in Delhi.
“The clouds are made of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and glass particles. Though it will not immediately affect the AQI, we need to monitor it, as the clouds are in the very upper atmosphere,” Jha added.
Meanwhile, the 24-hour average AQI for Delhi stood at 353 according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), slightly better than Monday’s levels of 382, while both remained in the ‘very poor’ category.
