New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital was on Friday (December 8) recorded in ‘very poor’ category. As per the Central Pollution Control Board, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at Anand Vihar, Delhi stood at 374 on Friday morning. Visuals from AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital, Kalindi Kunj and Akshardham showed smog engulfing the city at around 7 am.
Earlier on Thursday (December 7), the air quality in the national capital continued to remain in ‘poor’ category. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi, as per SAFAR-India (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), was recorded at 276 on Thursday morning.
Also Read: Outdoor Air Pollution Accounts For Over 2 Million Deaths Annually In India: BMJ Study
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted no rainfall in the National Capital till December 11. There will be clear skies with shallow to moderate fog in the morning across the city. Delhi has been experiencing air quality in the range of ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ over the last few weeks.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday hit out at Union Minister Bhupender Yadav saying that he gave a “gol mol” reply to pointed questions on public health and air pollution inside Parliament.
The Congress MP was referring to the reply he received from the Union Minister during Question Hour on ‘air pollution in NCR and the country’ in Rajya Sabha on the fourth day of the ongoing Winter Session.
Jairam Ramesh asked a question about whether the Centre was considering a review of the Pollution Control Act that was passed in 1981 and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Also Read: At AQI Of 354, Delhi Air Quality Sees Slight Improvement After Rainfall
To this Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said,
In view of the problem of air pollution in the country, a provision of Rs 19,711 crore was made by the Central government. And to define the standards that were set, 131 cities in the country were also identified. Schemes were implemented by the Central government to identify these cities, all provisions were made keeping in mind the toxic emissions that spread in the air, especially PM 2.5 and PM 10. And I would like to say that the standards which were made in these 131 cities, progress was made quite satisfactorily.
He added,
Rather, I would like to tell Jairam Ramesh that the municipalities that did good work and contributed in these 131 cities were also given awards in a positive manner. Because this topic is related to the lives of all of us and especially the local municipalities should participate in it as much as possible and those who have done good work should be specially compensated.
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’.
Also Read: Layer Of Haze Engulfs Delhi; Air Quality Nears ‘Severe’ Category
(Except for the headline, 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.
