Delhi’s air is worsening, some curbs start Oct. 15
Two weeks ahead of Diwali, a layer of haze lingered over the national capital Sunday as its air quality index (AQI) deteriorated further and touched the 245 mark, that falls in the “poor” category.
The AQI in some outlying areas, such as Anand Vihar, Wazirpur, Vivek Vihar, Mundka, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, was 327, 323, 317, 309, 302 and 300 respectively, which falls in the “very poor” category, the Central Pollution Control Board data showed. The air quality in neighbouring Ghaziabad (320) and Noida (310) in UP and Haryana’s Alipur Khalsa (351) and Panipat (339) also turned “very poor” by 4.30 pm. Faridabad, Greater Noida, Baghpat and Murthal recorded an AQI at 290, 233, 280, 259 and 245 respectively.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”. On Saturday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the city’s air quality started deteriorating as the smoke from crop residue burning in adjoining states reached Delhi. Despite a ban on stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, farmers continue to defy it amid a lack of financial incentives.
From October 15, stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbourhood. These include a ban on diesel generator sets, closure of brick kilns, stopping entry of trucks in Delhi and construction activities, and introduction of the “oddeven” scheme.
A layer of haze lingered over the national capital on Sunday as its air quality index (AQI) deteriorated further and touched the 245 mark, which falls in the ‘poor’ category.
The adjoining areas of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Noida, Baghpat, and Murthal recorded AQI at 290, 233, 280, 279, 259, and 245 respectively.
The air quality in Haryana’s Alipur Khalsa (351) and Panipat (339) turned ‘very poor,’ according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101 and 200 ‘moderate,’ 201 and 300 ‘poor,’ 301 and 400 ‘very poor,’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe.’
On Saturday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said smoke from crop residue burning in neighbouring states has started reaching Delhi and the air quality has started deteriorating.
“It has been widely reported that the smoke coming to Delhi is due to the burning of stubble in Karnal, Haryana,” he said.
Starting October 15, stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbourhood as part of the GRAP, which was first implemented in the year 2017
The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that smoke from stubble burning will make up six per cent of Delhi’s pollution by October 15. The 10member task force on the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) had, on Friday, held a meeting on the stubble burning incidents reported from Punjab and Haryana and its likely impact on DelhiNCR’s air quality.
Westerly and northwesterly winds bring dust to Delhi-NCR from the western regions and smoke caused by burning of crop residue in the neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.
Though Haryana has reported a slight decrease in the number of stubble burning incidents, Punjab has reported a massive increase of 45 per cent in such cases till October 11, according to data of the pollution control boards of the two states.
Starting October 15, stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbourhood as part of the GRAP, which was first implemented in DelhiNCR in 2017.
These measures include a ban on diesel generator sets, closure of brick kilns, stopping entry of trucks in Delhi, ban on construction activities, and introduction of the odd-even car rationing scheme.