Delhi continues to breathe poisonous air, AQI in several parts 'severe'

Delhi air pollution: Doctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately ten cigarettes a day

The citizens of Delhi continue to reel under dangerous air quality, with several parts of the city recording a "severe" Air Quality Index (AQI) of over 400 on Wednesday morning. As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality in RK Puram was recorded at 420. It was at 408 at New Moti Bagh, 404 at the IGI Airport area and 433 at Nehru Nagar.

The national capital's AQI stood at 392 at 8 am. The 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4 pm every day, was 397 on Tuesday. It was 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday. The neighbouring Ghaziabad (362), Gurugram (322), Greater Noida (312), Noida (364) and Faridabad (369) also recorded "very poor" air quality.

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".

Diwali celebrations and aftermath

The air quality in the national capital has been in the "very poor" category since Diwali on Sunday when firecrackers were burst across the country despite a ban by the Supreme Court. According to IQAir, a Swiss company that specialises in air quality monitoring, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, followed by Dhaka, Lahore and Mumbai.

Delhi's AQI was 358 on Monday and 218 on Sunday. On Tuesday evening, it was close to the "severe" category at 397.

Doctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately ten cigarettes a day. According to a report compiled by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) in August, air pollution is shortening lives by almost 12 years in Delhi.

Hanumangarh recorded the worst AQI of 420 on Tuesday evening, followed by 409 in Siwan and Delhi.

What's causing air pollution in Delhi?

Unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers and other local pollution sources, contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during winters.

According to a system developed by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology to identify the contribution of different pollution sources, stubble-burning accounted for 12 per cent of the air pollution in the capital on Tuesday. It is likely to be 14 per cent on Wednesday and 6 per cent on Thursday.

An official of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said stringent measures, including a ban on construction work and the entry of polluting trucks in the national capital, under the final stage of the central government's air pollution control plan called the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) will continue until further orders.

Meanwhile, Delhi Labour Minister Raaj Kumar Anand took stock of the implementation of measures to control air pollution at the Jonti Border area and reviewed the ground situation there. The minister also took stock of the implementation of the pollution control measures in the Kanjhawala area.

"Pollution in Delhi has been on the rise after Diwali. We have to reduce the pollution level in Delhi and our government is continuously working for it. We have been asking the locals to cooperate," Raaj Kumar Anand told ANI after the inspection in the Kanjhawala area.

(With agency inputs)