On Thursday, the air quality in Delhi became ‘dangerous’ and ‘hazardous‘. Weather agency aqicn.org measured the air quality index in Delhi’s Anand Vihar at 999, while Noida’s Sector 62 logged 469. The AQI in many parts of Delhi was above 500, as per aqicn.org.
The majority of the NCR is covered in maroon flags, which indicate “hazardous” air quality.
Stubble burning and low wind speeds
The main causes of Punjab’s declining air quality levels have been low wind speeds and ongoing stubble burning. As the high temperature on Wednesday reached 32.3 degrees Celsius, the air quality in Delhi remained in the “very poor” category for the fifth day in a row.
The Delhi High Court ordered the forest department to take action to guarantee that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital improves on the same day that it was informed it was in charge of maintaining the quality of the air.
While discussing the establishment of a substitute forest in Delhi and the filling of departmental vacancies, Justice Jasmeet Singh made the observation that children were developing asthma as a result of breathing contaminated air.
Early morning walkers in the nation’s capital have reported that breathing is more difficult than it was throughout the summer.
At 7 am today, the air quality index (AQI) for Pusa and the Delhi University region was 616 and 571, respectively, indicating “very poor” conditions.
Gurugram’s AQI was 323 (very poor), whereas Noida’s was 523 (extremely poor).
In an effort to reduce pollution, a 15-point winter action plan is being executed piecemeal, according to Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai’s statement last week.
Health experts are concerned about the potential increase in asthma and respiratory issues, particularly among children and the elderly.
“Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce pollution in the national capital,” Rai had stated.
The Minister from Delhi further stated that the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign was launched on October 26 because cars are one of the main sources of pollution. According to the data, particulate matter (PM) 10 is now down but PM2.5 is rising in the AQI.
This indicates an increase in the pollution brought on cars and by burning biomass . The ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign has been launched in response to this,” the minister from Delhi had stated.
The city’s air quality has been declining for the past week, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said on Wednesday that it has set aside Rs 20 lakh per zone to tackle air pollution.
The classification of an AQI is as follows: 0–50 = “good”, 51–100 = “satisfactory”, 101–200 = “moderate”, 201–300 = “poor”, 301–400 = “very poor”, and 401–500 = “severe”.
You might also be intersted in – What happens if Arvind Kejriwal is arrested? Can he stay CM of Delhi or must he appoint a successor?
