Even before the arrival of winter, Delhi along with several cities of north India is gasping for clean air as air quality has degraded to alarming levels over the past few days. Based on the real time data, Delhi ranks top on the list of most polluted cities in the country. It was the second-most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, a live ranking on IQAir’s a Swiss based air quality monitoring website indicated, after only Lahore in neighbouring Pakistan. AQI in Lahore recorded 394.
A layer of smog engulfed Delhi and surrounding areas, including Noida, on Tuesday morning, even as the air quality plummeted to the ‘very poor’ category at 327, followed by Haryana’s Jind where the AQI stood at 311.
Meanwhile, out of 36 monitoring stations in the National Capital, 26 are in the red zone, with the AQI recorded in the “very poor” category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. These stations include Anand Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Patparganj, Rohini, Shadipur, Sonia Vihar, Wazirpur, Alipur, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Burari, Mandir Marg, and others. A thick layer of fog was seen in areas like Anand Vihar, Kalkaji, Nehru Place, and Akshardham Temple, as Delhi’s air quality continued to deteriorate.
Factors contributing significantly to pollution include transportation, stubble burning, and dust pollution, with emissions from transportation accounting for approximately 11.45 percent of Delhi’s air pollution, according to the Centre’s Decision Support System for Air Quality Management.
As the air pollution in Delhi reaches the red zone, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote letters to the transport ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, urging them to ensure no diesel buses from their states plied to the national capital in view of GRAP II restrictions in place. Rai announced a slew of measures, including enhanced water sprinkling to control road dust, use of dust suppressants and deployment of additional traffic personnel to ease traffic congestion, among others.
He stated that a major component of this air pollution is vehicular emissions largely attributed to the significant number of diesel buses reaching Delhi from their states.
Rai also announced a series of anti-pollution measures, including extra metro trips, deployment of more than 6,000 MCD staff for road dust control and 1800 more traffic personnel at congestion points. He said 1,800 additional traffic personnel will be deployed at 97 congestion points across the city, while inspections at construction-demolition sites will also be intensified under the GRAP II.
The minister further said the Delhi Metro will make 40 additional train trips daily from Wednesday and the frequency of DTC buses will also be increased to encourage people to take public transport to aid the fight against pollution.
During the winter months, Delhi faces severe pollution due to a combination of factors, including low wind speeds, dropping temperatures, high moisture levels, and pollution particles that serve as surfaces for condensation.
At least 16 farmers have been arrested in India’s northern state of Haryana for illegally burning paddy stubble to clear fields, a practice that stokes air pollution in the region around New Delhi at the onset of winter, authorities said on Tuesday. India’s National Capital Region battles pollution at this time each year as temperatures fall and cold, heavy air traps pollutants such as construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke, much of which authorities say travels from the neighbouring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.
