New Delhi: The air pollution in the National Capital improved slightly on Tuesday (November 28) morning following light rainfall in several parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region a day ago. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the air quality of Delhi shifted to ‘very poor’ from the ‘severe’ category, with an AQI of 354, which is marginally down from 400 at 9 am on Monday.
Light rains lashed several parts of Delhi-NCR on Monday, bringing respite to citizens breathing high levels of air pollution over the last two weeks.
According to the official data recorded at 7:00 am on Tuesday, an AQI of 374 (very poor) was recorded at Anand Vihar. Similarly, Ashok Vihar recorded severe air quality with an AQI of 402.
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As per the Central Pollution Control Board, ITO recorded 436 (very severe), while Dwarka Sector 8 recorded 376 (very poor), and IGI airport (T3) logged an AQI of 351 (very poor).
Speaking on the weather change, Vipin Kumar, a resident of Lodhi Road, said,
Morning walk would feel good today. The weather is good today. Rainfall has cleared the weather a lot.”
Uday Pratap Singh, another local, said,
There is some relief from toxic air after rainfall . There was a lot of pollution earlier but with the rain, it is better now. It feels good.
The air quality index from 0 to 100 is considered ‘good’, 100 to 200 ‘moderate’, 200 to 300 ‘poor’, 300 to 400 ‘very poor’ and from 400 to 500 or above ‘severe’.
The recent surge in AQI levels followed the lifting of several restrictions by the Centre last Saturday, which included the allowance of construction activities and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi.
Restrictions under stages 1 to 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), however, remained in place.
Also Read: Kolkata Air Quality Remains ‘Poor’, Triggers Serious Health Concerns: Official
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
