New Delhi: As air quality in the national capital continues to hover in the ‘very poor’ category, desperate measures have been put in by the administration to improve the situation. Sprinkling of water on the city roads is one of the measures being adopted to bring down air quality index. The Delhi government has also pressed into service a total of 150 mobile smog guns to deal with air pollution.
According to Delhi environment minister, Gopal Rai, two smog guns will be installed in every assembly of Delhi, that is, total 70 assemblies and the rest will be installed at pollution hot spots. A mobile smog gun will hold seven thousand litres of water and will cover an area of ten km on one side
Also Read: Pollution Curbs Lifted In Indian Capital Although Air Quality ‘Very Poor’
On 7th November, Monday morning the AQI (air quality index) in the national capital Delhi came down and stopped at a ‘very poor’ category, after continuing to slide from the ‘severe’ category, which was recorded for three straight days last week, said the forecast system SAFAR.
Even though the air quality in Delhi continued to slide for the second consecutive day from the ‘upper end of very poor’ to the ‘very poor’ category, still, it is touching an alarming level on Monday morning as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city stood at 326.
Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.
According to the data released by the “Air Quality Early Warning System Delhi”, the quality of air is to further deteriorate in Delhi in the coming days.
The air quality is likely to deteriorate but remain in the very poor category from November 8 to November 9, it said in a press release, adding that the forecast for the subsequent six days is likely to remain largely in the very Poor category.
(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 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. 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 wake of the current 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 wellbeing, 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 diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
