Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) on Tuesday stood at 374, bringing no relief for residents of Delhi-NCR for the third consecutive day. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ weather forecasting agency SAFAR, the AQI in the national capital was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category at 10:40 am. The air quality index in neighbouring cities stood as follows — Ghaziabad (349), Greater Noida (359), Gurgaon (363) and Noida (382) — in the morning.
On Monday, the 24-hour average air quality index in the city stood at 353 at 4 pm. A significant drop in emissions from farm fires had brought the capital’s 24-hour average AQI down from 437 on Saturday to 330 on Sunday.
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The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution stood at 10 per cent on Monday, the lowest since Diwali (November 4). On average, farm fires have accounted for around 25 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in Delhi from November 1 to November 15. According to an analysis by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), people in the national capital breathe the worst air between November 1 and November 15 every year, as unhelpful meteorological conditions trap pollutants from local sources and stubble burning in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.
An 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’.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ forecasting agency SAFAR said the air quality is unlikely to improve on Tuesday as the transport-level wind speed is increasing resulting in more intrusion of stubble burning-related pollutants into Delhi.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 12.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning. The relative humidity stood at 88 per cent at 8.30 am.
Meanwhile, the Centre will hold an emergency meeting today over the worsening air pollution in Delhi-NCR as per the orders of the Supreme Court. Sources told CNN-News18 that the chairman of the air quality commission, MM Kutty, will chair the meeting, while the environment secretary at the Centre, CPCB chairman, chief secretaries of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab will join the urgent meeting via video conference.
Sources also said that recommendations of work from home will be the top agenda of the meeting and a decision in this regard is being pondered upon. The emergency response will also include a graded action plan, sources added.
The Supreme Court on Monday also suggested taking steps like working from home, stopping non-essential construction, transport, and power plants to tackle air pollution. A special bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justice Surya Kant has directed the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, and Delhi to attend the meeting and make their submissions before the committee formed by it.
(with inputs from PTI)
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