NEW DELHI: As the national capital reels under heavy pollution, demand for masks are going up in markets, especially for the N95 variant, which is generally recommended by doctors. On Wednesday, the city remained blanketed by a thick haze with its air quality dropping further, largely due to the heavy load of smoke from stubble-burning in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab, according to government agencies.
Twenty-seven of the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded the air quality index in the “severe” category.
The demand for masks has gone up, Mohammad Monish, owner of Neelkanth Chemists in east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden, said. “People have been asking mostly for the N95 face masks as suggested by experts,” he said.
Proprietors at Aggarwal Medicos in Greater Kailash said most of the people are purchasing N95 masks, cost of which ranges from '200 to '2000, depending on company to company.
The city’s pollution levels peaked at 2 am on Wednesday, touching the 423 mark. The overall AQI oscillated between 410 and 420 during the day, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government will start distributing masks among school students from Friday following a spike in the pollution level.
Fifty lakh N95 masks would be given to students in both government and private schools in Delhi, he said on Wednesday. Also, schools in Delhi-NCR have advised parents to send their children for classes wearing masks and shift outdoor activities indoors to deal with the pollution.
Delhi remained blanketed by a thick haze on Wednesday with its air quality dropping further, largely due to the heavy load of smoke from stubble-burning in Haryana and Punjab, according to government agencies.
Weather experts said the problem aggravated due to unfavourable wind speed that lead to accumulation of pollutants. A relief is likely on the weekend, they said. Twenty-seven of the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded the AQI in the “severe” category. Anand Vihar was the most polluted area in the capital with an AQI of 464 and Wazirpur following with an AQI of 462. NSIT, Dwarka, was the least polluted with an AQI of 355.
