The air quality in Delhi continued to be in the 'severe' category on Thursday, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. The forecasters on Wednesday predicted that the air quality was likely to improve after stronger winds, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 426 at 9.10 am.
Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri were the most polluted places in the capital with AQI at 460. The areas that recorded 'Severe' AQI are Alipur (439), Ashok Vihar (444), Bawana (456), Burari (443), Mathura Road (412), DTU (436), Dwarka (408), ITO (435), Mundka (438), Narela (447), Nehru Nagar (433), Patparganj (441), Rohini (453), Sonia Vihar (444), Vivek Vihar (444) and Wazirpur (444).
The AQI continued to remain in the 'very poor' category in Ghaziabad (391), Noida (388), Greater Noida (390), Gurugram (391) and Faridabad (347), the CPCB data stated.
Earlier, the residents in the Delhi-NCR region once again woke up to a smog-engulfed morning as the air quality worsened in several parts. With an Air Quality Index of 364, Delhi continues to stay in the 'very poor' category while many other parts in the NCR region are in a severe category.
Earlier on Thursday morning, AQI is at 393 in Uttar Pradesh's Noida in 'Very Poor' category, 318 in Haryana's Gurugram in 'Very Poor' category and 333 near Delhi Airport T3 in 'Very Poor' category.
Delhi's air quality improved marginally on Wednesday owing to relatively better meteorological conditions, with the Commission for Air Quality Management saying there was no immediate need to implement curbs, such as a ban on the entry of trucks and closure of educational institutions, under the fourth stage of the Graded Response Action Plan.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the impact of air pollution was not limited to the national capital and the situation was equally bad in other National Capital Region cities such as Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram, Greater Noida, and Faridabad. He appealed to city residents to preferably work from home or use shared transport to reduce vehicular emissions, a major contributor to air pollution in the national capital.
The minister said the Delhi government will run a special drive at the 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi, including Narela, Anand Vihar, Mundka, Dwarka, and Punjabi Bagh. "Fire tenders will be deployed at these places to sprinkle water," he said. Rai also attacked the BJP, saying it was politicising the issue of air pollution. "The BJP favoured polluting activities -- opposed the ban on firecrackers, stopped the implementation of "Red Light on Gaadi off" campaign and is now violating the ban on polluting activities in the capital and now doing politics over the issue," he said.
An AQI of above 400 is considered "severe" and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses. According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's (EPIC) Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released in June, the residents of Delhi stand to lose 10 years of life expectancy due to poor air quality.
With the pollution levels worsening, the CAQM had, on Saturday, directed authorities to impose a ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR, barring essential projects, and other curbs under the third stage of the GRAP. First implemented in 2017, the GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.
It classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different stages: stage 1 - "poor" (AQI 201-300), stage 2 - "very poor" (AQI 301-400), stage 3 - "severe" (AQI 401-450) and stage 4 - "severe plus" (AQI above 450). This year, curbs on polluting activities are being imposed three days in advance, based on forecasts.
(With agencies' Inputs)