Delhi's Air Quality Remains 'Poor' As We Get Closer To Diwali, Might Get Worse Due To Stubble Burning
Delhi and adjoining areas woke up to a hazy morning on Tuesday as the air quality continues to fall. On Tuesday the SAFAR data showed Delhis AQI at 252 for PM25 levels which fall under the poor category. The air quality is likely to remain poor or slip into very poor until weather conditions improve and wind speeds pick up.
Residents of National Capital Delhi and adjoining areas woke up to a hazy morning on Tuesday as the air quality continues to fall.
On Tuesday, the SAFAR data showed Delhi's AQI at 252 for PM2.5 levels which fall under the 'poor' category.
According to the health advisory, people with heart or lung diseases, older adults and children should reduce longer or heavy exertion and outdoor activities.
It has also warned that the air quality which has been on a downward spiral for nearly a week now could deteriorate the future in the coming days.
On Sunday, it turned "very poor" with the overall Air Quality Index going beyond the 300 mark, but on Monday, it had improved by around 50 points.
AP
The air quality is likely to remain poor or slip into very poor until weather conditions improve and wind speeds pick up.
According to SAFAR, pollutants from the stubble burning in the neighboring states like Haryana and Punjab only contributed to nearly 2 percent of the PM2.5 levels of Delhi so far, but it is likely to go up in the coming days as more and more farm fires are lit.
Meanwhile, the Graded Response Action Plan to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR has come into force on Tuesday, proactively rolling out stricter measures depending on the need to discourage private vehicles on roads, stop the entry of trucks, use of diesel generators, and closing brick kilns and stone crushers.
BCCL
Prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board and first implemented in Delhi-NCR in 2017, the Graded Response Action Plan lists measures to curb air pollution according to the severity of the situation.
This year, GRAP will witness the return of Delhi government's odd-even car rationing scheme from November 4 and the extension of the ban on diesel gen-sets to NCR cities of Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Sonepat, Panipat, and Bahadurgarh.
GRAP measures include increasing bus and metro services, hiking parking fees and stopping the use of diesel gen-sets when the air quality turns "poor".
BCCL
When it turns "severe", GRAP recommends closure of brick kilns, stone crushers and hot mix plants, sprinkling of water, frequent mechanized cleaning of roads and maximizing power generation from natural gas.
The measures to be followed in the "emergency" situation include stopping the entry of trucks in Delhi, ban on construction and introduction of the odd-even car rationing scheme.
Experts have hailed GRAP for a gradual reduction in pollution levels over the years and fixing accountability as it clearly marks the agency responsible for each action to be taken.IN
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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