Delhi's air remained severely polluted for the third consecutive day on Saturday morning with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 504. Despite a slight improvement in pollution levels overnight due to increased wind speeds, the concentration of toxic PM2.5 in the national capital and its surrounding areas remained more than 80 times the World Health Organisation's limit.
A suffocating blanket of toxic smog continued to cloak Delhi today, prompting doctors to raise concerns about the growing number of respiratory and eye ailments among children and the elderly.
Microscopic PM2.5 particles, which can lodge deep in the lungs and cause health problems, soared to seven to eight times the government's safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre in multiple locations across Delhi-NCR. This was 80 to 100 times higher than the WHO's safe limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai implored Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to take proactive measures to combat the worsening air quality in the national capital region, emphasising that entire North India is struggling with air pollution.
Quoting a study by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment, he said that neighboring states contribute 69 percent of Delhi's air pollution.
"While we (Delhi) are taking all possible steps to address the problem, no one knows what the environment ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are doing," he said.
"The effect of the Delhi government's steps is visible. If we talk about pollution throughout the year, in 2015 there were only 109 days when the air quality was good, this year it has been good for more than 200 days," Mr Rai added.
Delhi-NCR's air quality plummeted over the past week due to falling temperatures, stagnant winds that stifled pollution dispersion, and a surge in post-harvest paddy stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.
Delhi's AQI skyrocketed by more than 200 points between October 27 and November 3, plummeting into the "severe plus" category (above 450) on Friday, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. A slight improvement was seen from 468 at 4 pm on Friday to 413 at 6 am on Saturday, but the 24-hour average AQI of 468 on Friday was the worst since November 12, 2021.
Delhi's air quality is one of the worst among capital cities globally, with a University of Chicago report finding that air pollution reduces life expectancy by almost 12 years. Delhi once again topped the real-time list of the world's most polluted cities, compiled by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir. The national capital's AQI was over 600 in some areas on Friday, which is considered "hazardous." The second on this list, by some distance, was Pakistan's Lahore with an AQI of 335.
In neighbouring Noida, the air quality plummeted to the "severe" category, with an AQI of 576. Sectors 116 and 62 recorded AQIs of 426 and 428, respectively, according to the CPCB. Similarly, Gurgaon's air quality remained in the "severe" category, with an AQI of 512.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced in the assembly on Wednesday that the Delhi government will introduce a new policy for issuing Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates to vehicles from other states, in a bid to tackle air pollution.
Children exposed to higher levels of air pollution in early and mid-childhood may have weaker connections between key brain regions that can highly impact their thinking and controlling capacity, according to a study.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa has accused Arvind Kejriwal's AAP - in power before the BJP won the February election - of allowing more than 1.08 lakh vehicles to run on city roads despite each emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
An integrated command and control centre has been proposed in the 2025-26 Delhi budget, presented by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, for real-time monitoring of air quality, water pollution, noise levels, and waste management.
As part of broader strategy to tackle the expected winter pollution peak, the Delhi government will install six new air quality monitoring stations across the national capital over the next three months, Environment Minister said.
................................ Advertisement ................................
Opinion | Why Indians Have Just Given Up On Air Pollution CrisisTanushree Ganguly
Friday December 20, 2024While some may argue that people in Delhi are now more aware of air pollution than they were a decade back, my rebuttal would be that awareness does not mean that people are concerned.
Opinion | You Must Outrage Over Filthy Air More Than Once A YearJyoti Pande Lavakare
Tuesday December 10, 2024Delhi welcomed us with monsoon rains and mangos. We were home. Fast forward a couple of years, in the winter of 2012, I found myself in denial about something other parents, mostly expats, were calling toxic air.
Opinion | Delhi's Air Pollution Situation Is Like A Bad MarriageNishtha Gautam
Friday November 22, 2024On a good day, such as today, the AQI reading in Delhi is 407. We are jubilant at the sickly sunshine trickling through the slightly dissipated smog. At least its not 1600.
दिवाली... पराली... सियासी जुगाली!Ashwini kumar
Monday November 18, 2024दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण का समाधान तो आज तक मिला नहीं. हर साल चिंतित होकर हम-आप सांसों की तकलीफ के साथ-साथ दिल और ब्लड प्रेशर के मरीज भी क्यों बनें?
घर में कैद बुजुर्ग और हांफते लोग, दिल्ली की सांसों में घुला ये कैसा रोग?Nidhi Kulpati
Friday November 08, 2024हमारी हवा जहरीली हो रही है. गुरुवार की शाम को जब मैं इस मुद्दे पर लिखने बैठी तो AQI लगातार 400 पार जाकर दम घोंट रहा था. बहुत लोगों को यह मामला बोरिंग लगे, लेकिन जब आप अपने साथ काम करने वालों को खांसते-हांफते देखते-सुनते हैं, तो चिंता होने लगती है. सुबह उठते ही दरवाजे खिड़कियां खोलने के लिए डॉक्टर मना कर रहे हैं. बड़े बुजुर्गों के लिए तो मॉर्निंग वॉक बाहर की दुनिया से सीधे संपर्क का ज़रिया है, लेकिन डॉक्टर इसकी भी मनाही कर रहे हैं.