Delhi recorded 209 'good to moderate' air quality days in 2024, the highest since 2018, barring 2020 which witnessed a sharp dip in pollution due to the COVID-19 lockdown, according to the central pollution watchdog CAQM.
The number of 'good to moderate' air quality days was 159 in 2018, 182 in 2019, 227 in 2020, 197 in 2021, 163 in 2022 and 206 in 2023, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) data showed.
The city had 157 'poor to severe' days this year, the lowest since 2018 when the number stood at 206, excluding 2020 (139 days).
February, December and August recorded the best average Air Quality Index (AQI) in six years.
January, however, suffered the worst air since 2018, hitting an average AQI of 355 due to stagnant winds.
Dry spells and high-speed winds from April to June, especially in May, brought heavy dust and pollution, making it the worst May AQI since 2018, the CAQM said.
Despite this, 2024 tied with 2021 and 2022 for the second-best annual average AQI of 209, it said.
The year also saw a significant drop in stubble burning. Farm fires fell to 12,750 in Punjab, Haryana and neighbouring areas, the data showed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India's demographic health survey 2019-21 reveals that 13 per cent of children were born prematurely, and 17 per cent with a low weight at birth, with air pollution contributing to the adverse birth outcomes.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 25.2 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, with the weather office predicting light to moderate rain.
Cloud seeding is generally considered moderately effective, with studies and real-world programmes showing it can increase rainfall under the right conditions.
Paris has traded automotive routes for bike lanes, adding green spaces and eliminating 50,000 parking spaces.
In a first for the national capital, Delhi is set to witness artificial rain aimed at reducing air pollution, with cloud seeding scheduled between July 4 and 11, subject to weather conditions, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.
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