Delhi air quality remains 'very poor', anti-pollution restrictions imposed
Delhi Air Pollution:On Tuesday, Delhi's air quality was really bad, with an average AQI over 310, which is considered “very poor.” A thick layer of smog covered Delhi and nearby places like Noida, making the air even worse.
Delhi has started Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to tackle air pollution. This means they’ve banned coal and firewood use, including in tandoors at restaurants and cafes, and also diesel generators—except for emergencies.
GRAP is a plan to fight air pollution in Delhi and nearby areas, depending on how bad the air quality is. It has four stages:
Stage I: 'Poor' (AQI 201-300)
Stage II: 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400)
Stage III: 'Severe' (AQI 401-450)
Stage IV: 'Severe Plus' (AQI over 450)
Right now, out of 36 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi, 26 are in the "red zone," meaning their AQI is in the "very poor" category. This info comes from the Central Pollution Control Board.
Some of the stations in this category are in places like Anand Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Patparganj, Rohini, Shadipur, Sonia Vihar, Wazirpur, Alipur, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Burari, Mandir Marg, and a few others.
Several things are causing the pollution crisis in Delhi, like traffic, stubble burning, and dust. Transportation alone makes up about 10.9% of the air pollution, according to the Centre's report. Plus, satellite data shows there were 65 farm fires in Punjab, 2 in Haryana, and 25 in Uttar Pradesh, making the problem worse.
In winter, pollution levels in Delhi usually go up because of low wind, cooler temperatures, high humidity, and particles in the air that trap pollution. On Tuesday, humidity levels were between 60% and 86%. The weather department says it’ll be clear, with temperatures reaching around 35 degrees Celsius during the day and dropping to about 20 degrees Celsius at night.
Delhi Pollution: Firecracker Ban
To tackle the worsening air quality, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has banned making, storing, selling, and using all kinds of firecrackers in the city until January 1. This is part of the effort to cut down pollution during winter, which usually sees a rise in harmful particles due to stubble burning and bad weather.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the city's pollution problems. She said that the BJP’s "dirty politics" is behind the increasing air and water pollution in Delhi, pointing fingers at Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Atishi specifically mentioned that thousands of diesel buses from Uttar Pradesh, which come to the Kaushambi and Anand Vihar bus depots, along with brick kilns and thermal plants in the NCR, are contributing to Delhi's poor air quality.
Atishi said, "The main reason for pollution in Anand Vihar is the buses coming from UP. Haryana and UP dump their untreated waste into the Yamuna." She also promised to talk to the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government about these issues.
She questioned why the Haryana and UP governments can't use CNG and electric buses in their fleets. However, she cleared the AAP-led Punjab government of blame regarding stubble burning.
Delhi minister Gopal Rai also criticized the BJP, saying they sensationalize the pollution issue. He said, “The BJP creates a problem and then makes a video. Our job is to clean it. We’re already working on cleaning up, especially for Chhath puja. We’ll make sure to clean all the dirt coming from UP at Kalindi Kunj too.”
