First Severe Smog Episode Hits Delhi, Could Be Longest In 4 Years

The first major episode of smog has hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and is expected to last another two days, the Green Research Center for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. Although seasonal smog in Delhi is intense, the average daily smoke contribution from farm fires from mid-October to November 8 was the lowest in four years, it said.

"Predictably, the season' 1st episode has been triggered by the combined result of unfavourable weather (cool and calm winds and inversion), chaff burning and firecrackers," same Anumita Roychowdhury, government director, analysis and advocacy, CSE.

Compared to the first smogginess episode of previous four years, this smog has matched the length of the first smog of 2018 and 2020 season -- each lasted six days. If conditions don't improve, it would overtake the 2019 smog that lasted eight days, the cse said. the average intensity of the smog this year up to now is 329 mcg per kilolitre per day, that is under that of the 2020 smog (by seven per cent) and 2019 smog (by 3 per cent). it's additional intense than the 2018 smog (about nine per cent).