Union Govt huddles to prevent another spike in air pollution
NEWDELHI: The Union government said on Monday it will crack down on those violating anti-pollution rules over the next fortnight in an attempt to prevent another severe deterioration in air quality in the national capital during the winter season, a remark that followed a high-level meeting with officials from Delhi and neighbouring states.
While the air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) improved over the past two days, with pollutants being dispersed by high wind speeds, forecasts show that the pollution could again enter the “severe” zone by Thursday.
Union environment secretary CK Mishra said the government will enforce an action plan for the winter that will aim to control pollution even when the meteorological conditions are unfavourable. The action plan will focus on controlling local emissions in Delhi-ncr and penalise officials who fail to take action against polluting sources, he added.
Shortly after the meeting, which was attended by chief secretaries of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, Mishra said that illegal construction and industrial pollution will be monitored closely in the region till the end of December.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 4pm bulletin, the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi on Monday was 214, which falls in the “poor”
category. The AQI had touched 494 on November 3, the most hazardous level since 2016. A thick blanket of smog covered Delhi for several days and people complained of breathlessness and burning sensation in their eyes before wind blew away pollutants, showing how the Capital was largely defenceless against unfavourable weather conditions that exacerbate the impact of local sources of pollution and farm fires in Punjab and Haryana.
There was a second spike from November 12 to 14 — when schools had to be shut and people were warned of adverse health impacts associated with exposure to high pollution levels.
The ministry of earth sciences’ air quality monitor, SAFAR, said the relief over Sunday and Monday
was likely to be short-lived because of slowing wind speeds. “As per Safar-forecast model, winds are going to slow down significantly from tomorrow (Tuesday) and may remain very calm on 20th and 21st November.”
It said the air quality could turn “very poor” by Tuesday and “severe” by Thursday.
Delhi also witnessed a drop in temperature, with experts predicting that the formation of fog could have an adverse effect on air quality by increasing the chances of smog. The minimum temperature on Monday was 15 degrees Celsius, three degrees above the season’s normal. It is expected to drop to 12 degrees Celsius by Wednesday, according to the India Meteorological Department.
“We have found that sources of emissions apart from incursion of emissions from outside are mainly from dust, industries and vehicles. We have identified spots of congestion. Over the next 15 days, we will take over the water sprinkling to keep dust down; there will be a huge crackdown on illegal construction activities and industries. This intensified action will continue throughout December,” the environment secretary said.
“We had a spate of bad meteorology in Delhi but meteorology we will not be able to change. We will continuously bring down pollutants in the air so that even with bad meteorology, we don’t get into a very bad situation. The Supreme Court will hear us on November 25 again, we have a road map by which we will move ahead,” Mishra added.