Delhi’s Dangerous Air Quality Continues After Worst Pollution Levels This Winter
The capital city of India is known to have the worst pollution levels all year round, but more so in winters. As of today, Delhi residents continue to deal with poor air quality, marked with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 351 at 9 a.m. So, if you are planning to get cheap flight tickets to India from USA on Flyopedia, Delhi should not be at the top of your travel destinations right now.
Summary of Delhi’s Air Quality Following Worst Pollution Levels
The condition is severely critical in some areas which marked the state as being in a public health emergency. These areas include Anand Vihar (413), Punjabi Bagh (416), Bawana (401) and Mundka (420) with the most severe air quality levels. Incoming reports suggest that air quality levels are expected to worsen further in the upcoming weeks due to many factors. You can get flight to also get cheap flight to Delhi from Canada as well on Flyopedia.ca
Factors Affecting Delhi’s Pollutant Levels
Delhi’s present haze is being attributed to the build up of local pollutants, which is a result of stagnant winds and decreasing temperatures. Farm fires in the neighboring states are also impacting the situation by worsening it further due to adverse wind directions.
On 1st November, 2023, the Decision Support System (DSS) of Union Earth Sciences Ministry anticipated that these farm fires contributed to Delhi’s PM2.5 (ultra-fine particulate pollutants) levels. This was about 13%! The transportation sector of the city contributed to about 11.4% along with Gautam Budh Nagar nearby which was responsible for approx. 10.4% of the air pollution levels!
Despite the data, it is imperative to remember that the Decision Support System (DSS) can not and does not provide measurements of pollutants in real time. So, when you are availing our last minute flight deals to India from USA on Flyopedia, ensure that your travel plans do not include Delhi for the winter holidays.
Incidents of farm fires in Haryana and Punjab have risen drastically these past 2 weeks. However, it has not reached the typical levels usually found for this time of the year. On 7th November, 2023, Haryana and Punjab reported 1556 farm fires, which is triple the amount (442) from 2 weeks ago!
Effects Of Delhi’s Elevated Pollution Levels
The highly elevated air pollution levels in Delhi pose a harmful impact on individuals, even the perfectly healthy ones. Adults breathing in the contaminated air can experience many health problems including asthma, bronchitis, acute respiratory infections, anaemia, nausea and more.
As reported in a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, pregnant women breathing in these levels of highly polluted air have an increased likelihood of facing premature births. They are more susceptible to delivering lower weight, small infants which is unnatural.
Contaminated air poses a greater risk to infants’ neurodevelopment and cognitive abilities. Prolonged exposure may potentially elevate their risk of childhood cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children with escalating exposure to polluted air increasingly confront a growing risk of developing chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, later in life.
So, when you get cheap air tickets to India from USA on Flyopedia, plan your travels to avoid Delhi entirely this winter.
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