Delhi air quality poor; data says over 1,700 vehicles impounded in 20 days

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 208 --'poor'-- at 8 am, according to the state-run SAFAR

Delhi's air quality was 'poor' on Thursday, as data revealed that over 1,700 old vehicles were impounded in the last 20 days to curb pollution. 

The Air Quality Index (AQI) was 208 --'poor'-- at 8 am, according to the state-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Readings below 50 are considered safe, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous or 'severe'.

The data said that the Delhi government from November 17 till December 6 impounded 1,754 vehicles, including diesel cars older than ten years or petrol cars over 15 years old to curb vehicular pollution in the national capital.

As many as 749 vehicle owners have been fined and 1,417 have been prosecuted during the same time frame, the data, shared in a compiled Action Taken Report (ATR) prepared by the Department of Environment & Forest, said.

Delhi's air quality in November was the worst in seven years, data showed. The national capital's air quality became worse after Diwali on November 4 as people violated a ban on bursting firecrackers while the pollution compounded due to an increase in stubble burning by farmers in areas adjoining the national capital.

For the first time since November, Delhi was not on IQAir's, a website that tracks air pollution worldwide, list of the world's top ten most polluted cities. The only Indian city on the list was Kolkata at ninth position with an AQI of 181.

Air pollution costs Indian businesses $95 billion or roughly 3 per cent of its GDP every year, according to U.K.-based non-profit Clean Air Fund and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Bloomberg has reported.