A thick layer of haze lingered over the national capital on Monday morning as its air quality index deteriorated further, touching the 239-mark in several areas such as Jahagirpuri, Punjabi Bagh and Wazirpur.
According to data provided by aqicn.org, which offers real-time air quality index for more than 60 countries in the world, the pollution level in the city has plunged with the Air Quality Index (AQI) oscillating between ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous.
On Sunday, the AQI in Anand Vihar was 327; Wazirpur 323; Vivek Vihar 317; Mundka 309; Bawana 302; and in Jahangirpuri 300, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.
On Monday morning, the AQI of Delhi-NCR areas such as Rohini (207), Dwarka (194), Pusa Road (182), Mandir Marg (179), Noida Sector 62 (217), Noida Sector 125 (202), Ghaziabad (252), Anand Vihar (218) and Patparganj (189) wavered between ‘poor’ to ‘moderate’ as reports emerged of farmers defying stubble burning ban in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
Confused by the situation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “All the accumulations produced so far on pollution front will be canceled. Whereas we need to do a lot in Delhi and we are working, though, all governments and all companies require to operate to stop crop burning .”
On Saturday, he had told gas from crop trash burning in bordering states has begun entering Delhi and the air condition has commenced declining.
“It has been extensively stated that the smoke reaching to Delhi is due to the burning of waste in Karnal, Haryana,” he had said.
Developed by the Central Pollution Control Board, GRAP enumerates several steps to be practiced according to the hardness of pollution.
The 10-member task unit on the GRAP had on Friday operated a meeting on the agricultural waste burning occurrences arrived from Punjab and Haryana and it is expected to strike on Delhi-NCR’s air quality.
V K Soni, a superior scientist at the India Meteorological Department, who visited the meeting, stated winds are calm due to the monsoon recession, heading to low diffusion of pollutants.
Also, wind path has turned to west and north-west, he told.
Though Haryana has announced an inadequate reduction in the number of Agri waste burning events, Punjab has proclaimed that an extensive expansion of 45 percent in such events till October 11, according to results of contamination control boards of the two states.
Despite a prohibition on waste burning in Punjab and Haryana, farmers remain to resist it among a lack of financial considerations.
governments are offering 50 to 80 percent subsidy to farmers and cooperative organizations to purchase advanced farm machinery for in-situ administration of paddy straw and covering a massive experience campaign against stubble burning.
Starting October 15, stricter rules to combat air pollution will come into power in Delhi and its community as part of GRAP, which was first executed in Delhi-NCR in 2017.
These steps involve improving bus and metro services, increasing parking fees and preventing the use of diesel generator sets when the air quality changes poorly.
When the circumstances turn “critical”, GRAP confirms the conclusion of brick kilns, stone crushers and hot mix plants, a sprinkling of water, various mechanized cleaning of roads and maximizing power generation from natural gas.
