Air quality in Delhi deteriorated on Monday morning as pollutants rose, turning the atmosphere into several ‘dangerous’ areas. According to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the air quality index was recorded as ‘poor’ with 275 AQI in Anand Vihar, 263 in Rohini, 275 in ITO and 229 in Nehru Nagar.
“I felt irritation in my eyes when I went for a walk in the morning and faced respiratory problems,” the ANI told residents.
Delhi: the air quality index is 275 in Anand Vihar, 263 in Rohini, 275 in ITO and 229 in Nehru Nagar; all four in the “poor” category, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). pic.twitter.com/oNc7kPDaaj
– ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2020
However, a report in the Hindustan Times quoted scientists from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) as saying that pollution levels in the national capital are likely to decrease by Monday after five days of poor air. and get to the moderate zone.
The report further showed data indicating that the average reading of Delhi’s AQI, according to the CPCB, was 216 on Sunday, which was slightly better than Saturday 221. The Air Quality System and Weather Forecast and Research (Safar ), which is under the MoES, also predicted that a change in wind direction over the surface of Delhi would help improve air quality “marginally”.
The Delhi government is already preparing to fight pollution with a ‘green war room’ at the Delhi Secretariat to monitor air pollution levels in the city this winter.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said a 10-member team was established to monitor levels of primary pollutants, measures taken to curb pollution and the status of complaints received through the Green Delhi mobile app. . Satellite data related to agricultural fires in neighboring states will also be analyzed in the green war room.
There are different agencies working to tackle the problem of air pollution in Delhi. The green war room has been created to coordinate their efforts, Rai said.
He said the control room will work to ensure stricter enforcement of the guidelines for controlling dust contamination at construction and demolition sites, ready-mix concrete plants and garbage burning.
This campaign against dust will continue in mission mode until October 15 and strict measures will be taken against violators, he said. The environment minister said that the pollution levels in 13 hotspots in the city and the measures taken to reduce them will also be monitored through the green war room.
He added that daily reports on the number of complaints received and the complaints resolved will be sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
A Supreme Court-ordered pollution control authority said Thursday that stricter measures to combat air pollution will take effect from October 15 in and around Delhi as part of the Graduated Response Action Plan (GRAP). ).
The Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority directed the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to ban the use of diesel generators, except for essential or emergency services, in the national capital and neighboring cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram.
Large construction projects, including highways and the subway, will provide the commitment to state pollution control boards / pollution control committees that they will ensure compliance with prescribed standards for handling dust, said the chief. from EPCA, Bhure Lal, in a letter to the states.
The pollution control body also said to ban some economic activities, such as stopping construction work and truck driving, as emergency measures to control pollution will put pressure on an already stressed economy amid the pandemic of coronavirus. “We must try to avoid the need for other emergency pollution control measures. The economy is already under pressure after the shutdown. Therefore, our combined effort is to ensure there are no further disruptions,” he said in the letter .
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