Delhi Continues To Gasp For Air, Mumbai And Kolkata Fare No Better As Cities Grapple With Pollution

The air quality in Delhi on Wednesday continued to be in 'severe' category with several stations across the city recording a rise in PM 2.5 and carbon monoxide (CO).

Delhi has been reeling under toxic air for the past few days.

New Delhi: Delhi has been reeling under toxic air for many consecutive days and the city has already shut all schools, stopped construction activities, and said it will impose restrictions on vehicle use. The overall air quality in the national capital remained in 'severe' category at 11 pm on Wednesday, according to the pollution tracker Breezometer.

The air quality in Mumbai also continued to remain unhealthy with many areas in the city reporting an air quality index (AQI) above 200 on Wednesday.

According to Swiss group IQAir, three Indian cities were among the world’s most polluted cities on Wednesday morning.

New Delhi was recorded to be the most polluted city in India. Meanwhile, Kolkata and Mumbai grabbed fifth and sixth spots on the list, respectively.

As of 11 pm on Wednesday, the air quality index (AQI) in Kolkata stood at a 'very poor' level of 333, according to Breezometer.

Speaking on rising pollution levels in Mumbai, SP MLA Rais Shaikh said, "This is a very serious subject. We have never invested in environmental control. Even the BMC has been a failure. We have a very small environmental department, and now the city is facing all this. Even if we have regulation, we don’t have implementation. Now, what you are facing is a neglect of 20 years, the system is very corrupt."

The air quality in Delhi on Wednesday dropped to the 'severe' category after a day of being in the “very poor” category, with several stations across the city recording a rise in PM 2.5 and carbon monoxide (CO).

In neighbouring Ghaziabad, the air quality index ( AQI) was at 382, Gurugram at 370, Noida at 348, Greater Noida at 474, and Faridabad 396 on Wednesday.

In the national capital, the Anand Vihar station remained in the ‘severe' category with PM 2.5 at 500 while the CO was at 112 and NO2 at 128, under 'moderate' category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good'; 51 and 100 'satisfactory'; 101 and 200 'moderate'; 201 and 300 'poor'; 301 and 400 'very poor'; and 401 and 500 'severe'.

NASA Satellite Images

Recent satellite imagery released by NASA revealed that not just Delhi or Mumbai, but the toxic smog extends all the way from Pakistan to the Bay of Bengal. 

NASA Worldview's visuals unveiled a thick blanket of smog shrouding the northern plains of India, with air quality deteriorating to unhealthy levels in several cities surrounding Delhi.

However, the smog, which covers a large portion of Northern India, stretches from Pakistan to the Bay of Bengal. The major contributor to the smog is the significant rise in farm fires in North India,

According to the data shared by NASA, the number of farm fires has seen a sharp rise since October 29. The northern state of Punjab recorded a 740 percent increase in stubble burning with 1,068 farm fire incidents - the highest in a single day in the current harvesting season.