Delhi’s battle with ‘very poor’ air quality continues: Govt’s 15-point plan faces hurdles

Air quality in New Delhi, along with Gurugram and Noida, has been consistently poor for several days. According to SAFAR-India, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was 322, and in Noida, it was 324 on Monday morning (Oct 30). The AQI is a way to measure how clean or polluted the air is. It categorizes air quality as “good,” “satisfactory,” “moderate,” “poor,” “very poor,” or “severe.”

On Sunday (Oct 29), Delhi’s air quality was also in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.

Despite the Delhi government’s efforts, the air quality continues to worsen. The government had announced a 15-point winter action plan to reduce pollution, but it seems to be having limited success.

Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, has asked the Central Government to ban buses that use low-quality diesel in the National Capital Region (NCR) areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. This request is made to address one of the major sources of air pollution.

Particulate matter (PM) 10 and PM2.5 are two important indicators of pollution. The data shows that PM10 levels are decreasing while PM2.5 levels are increasing. This suggests that pollution from vehicles and biomass burning is on the rise. To combat this, a campaign called ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ has been initiated.

Cars are identified as a significant contributor to pollution, and measures are being taken to address this issue.

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