Pollution level enters ‘severe’ in Gurugram
THE DETERIORATION PROMPTED THE SUPREME COURTAPPOINTED EPCA TO DECLARE A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY ACROSS DELHI-NCR
GURUGRAM: Air quality in the city touched ‘severe’ levels for the first time this season on Friday, recording 469 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality index (AQI) bulletin. A substantial spike from 341 (’very poor) the previous day, this was the highest AQI recorded by Gurugram all year, leaving the city shrouded in a thick blanket of haze and sparking panic among residents.
The average daily concentration of PM2.5, according to the city’s sole official air quality monitor on Friday night, was 454ug/ m3. That is more than seven times the permissible limit of 60ug/m3, according to Indian standards, and more than 45 times the World Health Organization standard of 10ug/m3. Private air quality monitors, too, showed ‘severe’ air quality. One in Sector 65, for example, recorded an average daily PM10 concentration of 651ug/m3, while another in Sector 54 recorded PM10 to be at an average of 802ug/m3.
The rapid deterioration prompted the Supreme Courtmandated Environmental Pollution Control Authority (Epca) to declare a public health emergency across Delhi-NCR, and extend the ongoing construction ban from November 2 to November 5. While schools in the national capital are to remain shut till November 5, the Epca has advised NCR districts of Haryana to minimise children’s exposure to the outdoors.
EPCA CHIEF BANS CONSTRUCTIONS
Epca chief Bhure Lal on Friday also wrote to the state’s chief secretary to ensure a complete ban on construction during this period. Keeping in mind the emergency situation at hand, the pollution monitoring body also ordered Haryana to ensure closure of all brick kilns till November
5, as well as a total clampdown on use of diesel generators (with the exception of hospitals and elevators in condominiums).
These instructions were reiterated in a letter by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to all municipal authorities, public works departments and police heads in NCR districts on Friday evening. The CPCB task force also convened an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss implementation of the Grap with state pollution boards and implementing agencies.
RajeshGarhia,seniorscientist at HSPCB, said, “Friday’s plunge is because of several reasons. The contribution of stubble burning in NCR has shot up drastically, to about 45% from Thursday’s 29%. Simultaneously temperatures have reduced sharply, and there is still some residual effect of firecracker use which we are seeing, in addition to the usual causes of waste burning, construction and vehicles.”