Delhi's air quality 'very poor', vehicular emissions largest contributor

Delhi air quality: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will on Thursday hold a meeting with departments on the effective implementation of measures outlined in the Centre's air pollution control plan

The air quality in Delhi fluctuated between the "very poor" and "severe" categories on Thursday. According to the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's air quality index (AQI) was 393 on Thursday morning. It was 401 as of 4 pm on Wednesday.

Neighbouring Ghaziabad (358), Gurugram (325), Greater Noida (343), Noida (337) and Faridabad (409) also recorded "very poor" to "severe" air quality.

The data also reveals that pollution in the national capital has worsened since Sunday. It was 397 on Tuesday, 358 on Monday, 218 on Sunday, 220 on November 11, and 279 on November 10. A recent study has shown that vehicular emissions were the largest contributor to Delhi's worsening air quality.

According to a joint project by the Delhi government and IIT-Kanpur, these emissions accounted for about 38 per cent of the capital's air pollution on Wednesday. This is projected to rise to 40 per cent on Thursday.

Secondary inorganic aerosols -- particles such as sulfate and nitrate that are formed in the atmosphere due to the interaction of gases and particulate pollutants from sources like power plants, refineries, and vehicles -- are the second major contributor to Delhi's foul air, accounting for 30 to 35 per cent of the air pollution in the city over the last few days.

Calm winds and low temperatures are allowing accumulation of pollutants, and relief is unlikely over the next few days, an official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe", and above 450 "severe-plus".

Red alert in Punjab over stubble burning

Although stubble burning and farm fires are not the biggest contributors to pollution in Delhi, they are still major factors. The total cases of farm fires in Punjab crossed the 30,000 mark on Wednesday.

Following this, a red alert was sounded in all the districts of Punjab, and police officials said that legal action would be initiated if anyone was found burning stubble. Amid a spike in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, the apex court on November 7 directed Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to ensure crop residue burning was stopped "forthwith", saying it could not let "people die" due to pollution.

Thereafter, Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav appointed special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla as the nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burning.

Shukla on Wednesday said commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police have been directed to sensitise farmers, citizens and various stakeholders about the ill effects of stubble burning, which is also a violation of the law, and action could be initiated against offenders.

Gopal Rai to hold meeting for air pollution today

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai will meet with departments on Thursday at 1 pm at the Delhi Secretariat to discuss the effective implementation of measures outlined in the Centre's air pollution control plan.

Rai had previously reprimanded the departments concerned for their negligence in executing the air pollution control plan and urged them to establish a monitoring mechanism for overseeing the teams responsible for enforcing anti-air pollution measures.

(With agency inputs)