Delhi to have bad air quality for next 3 days

NEW DELHI: The MET department today predicted bad air quality in the national capital for the next three days.

System of Air quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), a constituent of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), recorded PM10 level as 164 microgram per meter cubic while PM2.5 (particulate matters less than 2.5 microns in size) level was 98.

PM2.5 level should be around 40 and PM10 level should be around 60 microgram per meter cubic. These levels are likely to increase as the department has forecast "dust storm" for the next two days with temperature to be 42 degrees Celsius.

The national capital has the highest concentration of PM2.5 form of air pollution, which is considered most serious. PM2.5 can easily enter the body through inhaling. It can cause chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

A massive thunder storm coupled with dusty winds hit the national capital this evening severely affecting road traffic, metro services, flight operations and power supply. Met department termed the storm as "cumulonimbus" and attributed it to western disturbance over Pakistan.

NCR areas of east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad were most affected by the storm.