NEW DELHI – An Indian government scientist said Friday that air quality in New Delhi worsened last week and is now “very poor,” although he added it should not be compared to China’s capital, which has been reeling under severe air pollution.
Gurfan Baig of the state-run Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said levels of tiny particulates known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs, reached 250 micrograms per cu. meter in areas in and around the capital.
That is more than 10 times higher than World Health Organization safety levels over a 24-hour period. Although the level is harmful to health, it is still far better than the recent air quality in Beijing, where levels of PM2.5 have been hovering around 500. The fine particles come from combustion in motor vehicles, power plants, wood fires and some industrial processes.
“The air quality in the Indian capital is fluctuating between poor and very poor, and in the Chinese capital between very poor and critical,” Baig said.