Delhi’s air quality today recorded a marked improvement, though it was in the ‘very poor’ category, as the city’s environment minister Gopal Rai said his government would submit a lockdown proposal to the Supreme Court tomorrow to tackle air pollution .
Delhi recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 330 on Sunday as against 437 the previous day, as emissions from fires in Haryana and Punjab declined significantly. The AQI on Friday was 471, which is the worst ever this season.
The air quality index of the neighboring states of Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Greater Noida was recorded at 331, 287, 321, 298 and 310 respectively.
An AQI between zero and 50 is ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 ‘very poor’ considered serious.
The India Meteorological Department said the visibility level at Indira Gandhi International Airport ranged from 1,500 to 2,200 meters and at Safdarjung airport from 1,000 to 1,500 meters.
National capital Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the Delhi government will present a proposal in the apex court tomorrow on the lockdown and its modalities.
The SC on Saturday termed the rise in pollution levels as an “emergency” and suggested a lockdown in the national capital.
The AAP-led Delhi government has already announced closure of physical classes, except in schools, colleges and other educational institutions where examinations are being held, for a week from Monday.
All government offices, agencies and autonomous bodies, except those involved in essential services, have been directed to ask employees to work from home. No construction and demolition activity is allowed in the capital till November 17.
State Governments and District Administrations in the National Capital Region have also been suggested to issue a ‘Citizen’s Charter/Advisory’ to the public on the steps to be taken during the various phases of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) has asked Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to consider implementing similar restrictions to check rising levels of air pollution.
Meanwhile, the Haryana government today announced various measures including closure of all schools, work from home for employees and ban on all types of construction in four districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar till November 17.
An order in this regard was issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority with a view to curb air pollution in these four districts that share a border with Delhi and fall in the National Capital Region (NCR).
As per the order, the guidelines will come into force with immediate effect.
SAFAR, the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality forecasting agency, said the transport-level winds are “slower, resulting in less infiltration of fire-related pollutants into Delhi”.
Over 3,400 fires accounted for 12 per cent of Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution on Sunday, up from 31 per cent on Saturday. The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution ranged between 25 per cent to 48 per cent from November 4 to November 13.
SAFAR said that if the number of stubble burning does not increase, the air quality in Delhi may improve slightly in the next two days due to the ban on anthropogenic activities.
The air quality is likely to deteriorate from November 16 night onwards due to calm wind conditions. It is likely to remain at the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category on November 17, the agency said.
with agency input
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