A thick layer of smog engulfed the National Capital on Sunday, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) continued to deteriorate, crossing the 500 mark, two days after Diwali. The government may soon consider banning BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers, dust suppression measures, and forbid all non-essential construction activities.
In areas like Shahdara and Anand Vihar, the AQI remained above 500 after 11.30 am on Sunday. The air pollution level lies in the alarming ‘hazardous’ category (above AQI 400) in most parts of the capital, with PM2.5 levels over 59.6 times more threatening than the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) prescribed limit.
An average AQI stood in the “very poor “category at 382 in Delhi. A day before, it had been slightly worse at 339 but did not slip into the ‘severe’ level as forecast because of favourable atmospheric conditions such as warmer temperatures and strong winds. According to weather analysts, it is likely that wind speed will drop further and, therefore, worsen the pollutants status. Local factors, including construction activities, heavy volumes of vehicles, and farm fires, aggravated the situation here.
At present, the major contributors to PM2.5 pollution are local and regional sources. The transport sector is the most significant contributor at 12.24 per cent, as per the Decision Support System data by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). While the residential sector contribution is 3.21 per cent, industries contributed (3.53 per cent), construction 1.67 per cent, energy sector 1.63 per cent, waste burning 1.49 per cent, and road dust 1.19 per cent.
The IITM, in its six-day outlook Sunday, said that the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’ category. It also stated, “Meteorological conditions are likely to be extremely unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants.” The 24-hour average Particulate Matter (PM)2.5 and PM10 were 180.4 ug/m3 and 303.9 ug/m3, respectively, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as of 1 pm on Sunday. The 24-hour averages of PM2.5 and PM10 pollutants are three times higher than the national prescribed standards of 60 ug/m3 and 100 ug/m3, respectively.
The AQI at Nehru Nagar also remained in the “severe” category, with levels recorded at 431. The AQI remained in Punjabi Bagh and Ashok Vihar at 427 and 415, respectively. Alipur, Aaya Nagar, Bawana, Burari, Mathura Road, IGI Airport, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Patparganj, Rohini, Shadipur, Sonia Vihar, Wazirpur, Mandir Marg, Nehru Nagar, Najafgarh, and other weather-monitoring stations witnessed from “very poor” air quality to hazardous category, according to the Sameer app that provides hourly updates of the National AQI published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). These levels fall under the “very poor” category, with prolonged exposure likely to impact residents’ respiratory health, especially those with pre-existing conditions.
In Noida, Sector 62 registered an AQI of 314 and Sector 116 at 303. Sector 125 recorded a slightly lower AQI of 287. Meanwhile, air quality in Gurugram varies significantly across different areas. NISE Gwal Pahari recorded an AQI of 351, while Sector 51 witnessed a much lower AQI of 188, suggesting relatively better air quality.
As per details shared by the Ministry of Environment, a total of around 54,000 vehicles have been challaned for non-possession of PUCs and around 3900 overaged vehicles have been impounded across NCR since the imposition of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) between October 15 and October 31, 2024. The Ministry said in a statement that more than 7000 construction and demolition sites were inspected across the NCR and environment compensation has been imposed on 597 non complying sites and orders for closure have been issued for 56 sites.
To control the dust pollution at source, the deployment of Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs) , water sprinklers and anti smog guns (ASGs) have been increased across NCR. In Delhi alone, on average 81 MRSMs were deployed daily while in Haryana and UP, 36 MRSMs were deployed to control dust pollution on roads. Similarly on average around 600 water sprinklers and ASGs each were also deployed on a daily basis across NCR.
Intensive inspections were carried out for illegal dumping sites across NCR and necessary action taken against illegal sites. More than 5300 such inspections were carried out. Accordingly, action against defaulters for solid waste burning during the GRAP period was also taken.
Enforcement drives have been taken by NCR State agencies to inspect industries and DG sets and take action against non-complying units by imposing EC and/or issuing closure. Around 1400 industries and 1300 DG sets were inspected and action against non-complying units were taken.
Setting up a GRAP Monitoring Control Room in the Commission To follow up and monitor the targeted actions by NCR States, a GRAP Monitoring Control Room has been set up in the Commission since 15.10.2024 which is headed by Member (CAQM). A dedicated WhatsApp group has been created for smooth flow of information between Control Room and concerned Nodal Officers of States. The Control Room remains operational throughout the week.
Meanwhile, an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air ranked Delhi as the third most polluted post-Diwali city. As per the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space, which comes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), satellites detected 861 residue burning events in the six study States on 02-November 02. The state wise events detected were 379 in Punjab, 19 in Haryana, 87 in Uttar Pradesh, 00 in Delhi, 80 in Rajasthan and 296 in Madhya Pradesh. The data shows a total 9376 burning events were detected in the six states between September 15 and November 2, which are distributed as 3916, 838, 1272, 12, 1036 and 2302 in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, respectively.
