On Monday, Delhi once again hit the world headlines and was rendered breathless for all the wrong reasons. As the Capital of India clocked yet another day of severely compromised air quality at 494, its residents had another and far bigger fear and doubt to grapple with. Was the AQI index actually 494 to begin with?
The questions on the barometer of air quality index itself came to light after platforms like IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, reported levels above 1600. Thereby leaving the residents seriously questioning the reliability or rather accuracy of the numbers.
Is Delhi's AQI actually above 1600?
While 474 seemed horrific enough, a touch short of the 500 AQI, the highest recorded by Delhi since the index was introduced in 2015, surprisingly the AQI of 1600 is accurate too — albeit for more profound reasons. Notably, India's AQI is capped at 500 which means any index or reading higher than that will be collectively grouped under the Severe Plus category, indicating a public health emergency. This upper limit, however, does not exist in international systems like IQAir, thereby allowing them to display figures way beyond the 500 mark and thus showcasing the exact gravity of the situation. There is another difference between the two systems. While India's AQI measurement is based on analyzer-based systems, IQAir's AQI measurement is derived from sensor-based systems. Experts differ on which one is more accurate.
The most popular air pollution measurement tools and devices include sensors, air pollution map and mobile applications. Sensors, small devices gather data on the basis of concentration levels of key gas pollutants such as NO2, O3, SO2, and CO. Delhi's PM2.5 levels, a key pollutant, touched the alarming average of 422.8 micrograms per cubic metre on Monday. The figure is seven times higher than India's already lenient permissible limit of 60 and 28 times higher than the WHO recommended level of 15.
AQI is equal to these many cigarettes
In order to make the pollution levels and its effects more understandable, a few reports likened the air quality to number of cigarettes. Reportedly, air quality in the range of 400-450 is equivalent to smoking 16-20 cigarettes per day with very high chances of reduced lung capacity and function. At this index, all the groups and not just high-risk groups, are under severe threat.
AQI memes flood Twitter
Meanwhile, the residents contonue to worry about how air quality this compromised can make living in the city sustainable. In the absence of no easy answers or instant solutions, humour came to the rescue, at least virtually. Call it yet another coping mechanism. AQI memes flooded the social media. "Low IQ = High AQI," read one of the satirical tweets, pointing out how people start paying attention to climate, health and development only in the face of a crisis and not during elections. "Delhi's finest toxins now available at your doorstep," read another meme highlighting the gravity and universality of the situation.
While Delhi schools have been told to resume online classes till further notice, the Supreme Court of India ordered the Capital and neighboring states in the NCR to enforce the most stringent measures under GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) Stage IV till further notice.
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