Glad to see pollution levels have come down: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he was glad to see that pollution levels had come down, but efforts have to be made to ensure there is no increase.

Delhi breathed easier on Wednesday as pollution levels dropped further due to moderate wind speed though weather experts feared a cloud cover at night and light drizzle could lead to deterioration of air quality.

The PM 2.5 — tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter that can enter into the lungs and even the bloodstream — and PM 10 levels also dropped.

“At 2 pm today, PM 2.5 -39, PM 10 – 96. I am glad pollution is coming down. We have to keep up our efforts so that coming days do not see any spike. Grateful to everyone whoever made efforts to reduce it,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

The PM10 concentration was 226 ug/m3 at 1.30 pm. The safe levels of PM2.5 and PM10 are 60 and 100 ug/m3, respectively.

The Delhi government has introduced the third edition of odd-even scheme as part of anti-pollution measures. The the 12-day road rationing rules had come into effect on November 4.

At 7 pm, the city’s overall air quality index read 217, which falls in the poor category. At many places, the pollution levels dropped to “moderate” category.