NASA image shows how stubble burning added to ongoing pollution crisis
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has put out an image of farm fire, which have resulted in rise of the levels of air pollution in the national capital. The image shows flashpoints with the help of red dots. The entire area in and around Delhi is seen with high levels of toxic air pollution.
The picture were clicked by Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite on 11th November, the space agency said on its blog.
Smoke from crop fires in northern India blanketed Delhi and contributed to soaring levels of air pollution. https://t.co/Pe30imj6xV pic.twitter.com/RyNEmVcbXx
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) November 18, 2021
Pawan Gupta, a Universities Space Research Association (USRA) scientist at Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Centre, said “Looking at the size of the plume on November 11 and the population density in this area, I would say that a conservative estimate is that at least 22 million people were affected by smoke on this one day”.
Furthermore, the space agency stated that fires in northern Pakistan could also have contributed some of the smoke.
Delhi's air quality continues to remain in the 'very poor' category for the sixth successive day on Friday, as per the System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR).
However, the overall Air Quality Index scaled down from 362 on Thursday to 332 on Friday.
As maintained by SAFAR, Delhi's AQI will continue to remain the same for the next two days. An AQI between zero and 50 is regarded as 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
The entry of big vehicles in the national capital besides those transporting essential commodities has been held till 21st November.
First published: 19 November 2021, 16:41 IST