Wednesday witnessed the worst smog in the past few years. According to the airport sources, earlier November 2012 saw similar conditions.
According to the sources, during the day , when the condition improves general visibility at the IGI Airport was in the range of 300-500m, compared to dense fog days of December and January. By 9pm, the visibility had reduced to 250m.
However, the Met department has predicted a slight improvement in smog conditions during the day on Thursday , a significant improvement is expected only around November 7. The meteorology department officer was quoted saying,
“According to the wind forecast, there will be gradual improvement of smog-related low visibility on Thursday and Friday–to about 1,200m. However, a high accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere may hamper the visibility on Thursday morning.” “Such thick smog, even in the absence of any rainfall and low temperatures in Delhi, may trigger dense fog during the first half of the next couple of days, which is earlier than the normal arrival of fog across the capital. There are chances of dense fog requiring CAT I-III conditions at the airport with the visibility expected to reduce to 100m for 2-3 hours on Thursday .”
Report also says that, by November 6 or 7, winds of 10-15kmph are expected to set in, which will bring improvement in smog conditions.
Wednesday’s smog, which was reported to be the worst in the past few years, was an aftermath of an extremely stable environment. The sources said that the density of smog increased because pollutants were concentrated near the ground in a column of 500-700m.
According to the sources, the worst smog spell before this was from November 1to 8, 2012. During this period, the day visibility fluctuated from 600 to 1,000m. Presently, there has already been smog over the city , which reduced visibility from 1,200 to 800m during the day since Diwali, on October 30. Apart from these conditions, there were no winds on Wednesday.
A gradual fall in temperatures over northwest India, including Delhi, in the next few days is expected by the Met department.
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