Air Pollution: Delhi’s Air Quality Deteriorates To ‘Very Poor’ Again; Weekend Rain May Bring Relief

New Delhi: After being in the ‘poor’ category for two days, Delhi’s air quality has slipped back to the ‘very poor’ category on Friday due to the reduced wind speed and a dip in the temperature, says Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. According to CPCB, Delhi had better air quality on Wednesday and Thursday due to increased wind speed which helped in cleansing the air. Authorities predict that there may be rainfall in the next couple of days which they said might lower the pollution level. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI)in Delhi at 4pm was 371, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category.

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According to CBCP, an AQI between 100 and 200 comes under the ‘moderate’ category, 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, while that between 401 and 500 is ‘severe’.

CPCB noted that five areas in Delhi including Anand Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka Sector 8, ITO and Mundka recorded ‘severe’ air quality, while 28 areas recorded ‘very poor’ air quality and three areas ‘poor’ air quality. According to IIT-Kapur’s analysis major reasons of pollution in Delhi are the vehicular emissions, industrial emissions and biomass burnings/ bonfires to combat cold temperature taking place widely across the city.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, while Gurgaon recorded ‘poor’ air quality, CPCB said. The overall PM2.5 level – fine particulate matter of toxic pollutant in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (several times thinner than a human hair) – in Delhi was recorded at 246 μg/m3, while the PM10 level was at 396 μg/m3. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the recommended limit of PM 2.5 is 25 μg/m3 24-hour mean and the limit for PM 10 is 50 μg/m3 24-hours mean.

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The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) also said the air quality may improve in the next two days under the influence of light rains which is expected thereafter.

Meanwhile, the Centre has launched a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to curb the rising pollution levels in 102 cities in India, IIT-Delhi is working on a bi-weekly action plan to help authorities fight pollution in the national capital, especially during the cold weathers when air quality dips to abysmal levels. These bi-weekly plans will suggest pre-emptive measures to the CPCB to help it curb pollution caused due to the local factors.

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(With inputs from PTI)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.