Dust, waste burning drove Delhi pollution before farm fires, crackers took over
The recent surge in air pollution in Delhi was primarily driven by local sources such as open waste burning, road dust, and construction activity, according to an analysis of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) data by The Indian Express. This occurred before the city shifted to a profile dominated by crop-residue burning and Diwali emissions in early November.
The analysis reveals that biomass burning, including stubble burning and the use of domestic solid fuels, accounted for 25.5% of PM2.5 pollution during the last week of October, which was the largest share during this period.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
