New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday (November 1), with an AQI of 372 while the minimum temperature was recorded at 16.4 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity at 8:30 am stood at 85 per cent. The weather office has predicted a clear sky during the day. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in many parts of Delhi such as Anand Vihar, Bawana and Rohini has entered the “severe” category.
Also Read: Air Quality In Delhi Continues To Remain In ‘Very Poor’ Category
As per the SAFAR-India, the city’s AQI has been in the ‘very poor’ category since Sunday (309). The AQI was recorded at 322 on Monday and 327 on Tuesday, as per the data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.
Meanwhile, morning walkers of the national capital said that breathing is not as easy as it used to be in the summer months. A morning walker at Mayur Vihar said,
It feels a bit uncomfortable to breathe while running due to pollution now as compared to in the summer months. I face congestion. We need to remain careful and take all precautions.
In the Delhi University area and Pusa, the quality of air was recorded as ‘very poor’ with AQI at 391 and 311, respectively at 7 am today. The quality of air in the IIT Delhi region also remained in the very poor category with an AQI of 329. The quality of air at the Airport (T3) and Mathura Road was also in the very poor category, with an AQI of 339 and 362 respectively.
Also Read: Parts Of Delhi Record Air Quality In ‘Severe’ Category
Meanwhile, Noida recorded an AQI of 391 (very poor) and Gurugram 323 (very poor). Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature, and colour.
The AQI from 0 to 100 is considered 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. Last week, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that a 15-point winter action plan is being implemented one by one to curb pollution. Minister Rai said,
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce pollution in the national capital.
The Delhi Minister added that since one of the major causes of pollution is vehicles, they have started the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign on October 26.”Now the data says that in AQI the level of particulate matter (PM) 10 is decreasing and that of PM2.5 is increasing. This means that pollution caused by vehicles and biomass burning is increasing. For this, the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign has been started,” the Delhi minister had said.
Also Read: No Relief To People In India, As The Air Quality Continues To Deteriorate In Several States
(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 – theLGBTQ 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 currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) 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, fightmalnutrition, 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 likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
