New Delhi’s air quality saw a slight improvement on Thursday, moving from the ‘severe’ category to ‘very poor’. The city had been experiencing hazardous air quality for several days. The Centre has announced staggered working timings for its employees in view of the severe air pollution here.
Meanwhile, the restrictions imposed under the Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) which bans BS-3 and BS-4 diesel vehicles, has disrupted travel and transportation, particularly for those engaged in the wedding business. The National Capital emerged as the most polluted city in India, recording an average PM2.5 level of 243.3 micrograms per cubic metre air (µg/m³), with pollution surging by 19.5 per cent in week-on-week increase.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), employees have also been asked to pool vehicles and use public transport to minimise vehicular pollution.” These measures may be adopted by ministries/departments/ organisations as per their functional requirements ensuring that it should not have an adverse impact on efficiency and productivity in any manner,” the order read. The order said offices can be open from 9 am to 5.30 pm and 10 am to 6.30 pm.
The move assumes significance as a body representing the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers had, on November 18, demanded work-from-home, staggered working hours and air purifiers in all office buildings to mitigate the health impact of the severe pollution levels.
A thin blanket of smog continued to envelop the National Capital Region (NCR), including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 371. A data from AQICN.Org showed AQI of 569 at Delhi Institute of Tool Engineering and 479 at Satyawati College monitoring stations.
According to IQAir, PM2.5 concentration is currently 47.8 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value. Visibility at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport dropped, leading to flight disruptions. According to Flightradar, 97 flights have been delayed and 3 cancelled till now.
According to the CPCB, in 12 areas of Delhi, the AQI level remained between 400 and 500. It was 408 in Alipur, 405 in Anand Vihar, 414 in Ashok Vihar, 418 in Bawana, 401 in Dwarka Sector 8, 435 in Jahangirpuri, 413 in Mundka, 411 in Nehru Nagar, 407 in Punjabi Bagh, 407 in Rohini, 412 in Shadipur, and Wazirpur remains at 436 level.
Whereas in 26 areas of the National Capital, the AQI level remained above 300 and between 400. It was 369 in Aya Nagar, 339 in Chandni Chowk, 343 in Mathura Road, 368 in Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, 360 in DTU, 370 in IGI Airport, 341 in Dilshad Garden, 365 in ITO, 354 in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.At Lodhi Road the air pollution level was 335, Major Dhyanchand Stadium 372 and Mahendra Marg 365. The levels were 366 in Najafgarh, 395 in Narela, 356 in North Campus DU, 365 in NSIT Dwarka, 389 in Okhla Phase 2, 381 in Patparganj, 365 in Pusha, 389 in RK Puram, 373 in Siri Fort, and 394 in Sonia Vihar.
While Travel agencies report a sharp rise in demand for BS-6 and CNG vehicles, including cars like Ertiga, Innova, and traveller buses, as they scramble to meet commitments made before the ban.”The wedding season has added to the pressure. Many vehicles were pre-booked months in advance, and with this sudden ban, we had to scramble to adjust,” said a travel agency owner. “We are struggling to arrange new vehicles, the petrol, CNG, and BS-6 compliant ones, as weddings and transportation needs are being heavily affected,” he added. Another travel agency owner highlighted the growing challenges.
Another travel agency owner said that this is the peak wedding season, and many families plan destination weddings or large gatherings requiring bulk bookings and they are finding it difficult to arrange vehicles. According to the Air Quality Analysis Report by Respirer Living Sciences, which analysed PM2.5 levels across 281 Indian cities from November 3 to 16, Delhi was ranked last, holding position 281.
