Delhi air quality deteriorates further as stubble burning continues unabated

Delhi’s air quality on Wednesday deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category, the first in this season, with several places in the national capital nearing alarming levels of pollution, according to authorities.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 315, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research.

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”.

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On Wednesday, Anand Vihar was recorded an AQI of 358, Dwarka Sector 8 registered AQI of 376, ITO recorded 295, and Jahangirpuri and Rohini were at 333 and 330 respectively, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data

Stating that a number of factors were responsible for the deteriorating air quality, including vehicular pollution, construction activities and meteorological factors, CPCB warned further deterioration of the air quality in Delhi-NCR in the coming days.

Among the meteorological factors behind the falling air quality, the main reason was the drop and change of wind speed, which was now flowing from the stubble-burning areas, CPCB official said.

Concerned over the alarming air quality in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain demands immediate halt on activities, including crop stubble burning and garbage, which considered a contributing cause for pollution in Delhi-NCR.

Latest satellite images showed crop residue burning at “dangerous” levels and it should be stopped immediately or the entire north India, including Delhi, would suffer serious health hazards, Hussain said.

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Hussain also asked people to keep all construction material covered to stop dust re-suspension.

 “It is beyond any reasonable understanding as to why this menace is being ignored, despite a well-known fact that the consequences will be disastrous in the coming days,” the minister said in a statement.

The Supreme Court-empowered Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has already imposed since Monday the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which prescribes a set of measures to curb air pollution, after Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to “poor” a few days back.

(With PTI inputs)