Page 44 - Air Pollution

Delhi's air quality continues to be "very poor", Mumbai's slightly better

Delhi pollution: The overall air quality in the national capital deteriorated from the 'poor' category to the 'very poor' category on Sunday afternoon, with the AQI at 302

As Delhi's AQI turns 'very poor', stubble-burning reported in Haryana

"We are forced to set fire to the straw as we have to sow the next crop, we are getting late in it, that is why we have to burn it," a farmer said

Air quality likely to turn 'very poor', Govt invokes Grap Stage 2 measures

Amid a likely increase in pollution levels, the Centre's air quality panel on Saturday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to increase parking fees to discourage private transport and enhance CNG or electric bus and metro services. The action comes as part of 'Stage II' of the central government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP), which is implemented in the Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution during the winter season. At a meeting to review the air quality situation in the Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for proactively implementing GRAP, said forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) suggest Delhi's overall air quality is likely to dip and enter the 'very poor' category on October 23 and 24, owing to unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) sto

Deteriorating air quality in Delhi, violations of Grap: NGT issues notices

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices and sought action-taken reports from several authorities, including the Delhi chief secretary, Union environment ministry and MCD, in a matter regarding the deteriorating air quality in the national capital. The NGT issued the notices while hearing a matter where it had initiated suo motu (on its own) proceedings based on media reports on the deterioration in Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) and violations of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), under which stricter measures are taken to curb air pollution during winter. Noting the reports, a bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said despite action taken by the authorities, the problem of air pollution is aggravating in Delhi and the residents are facing various health problems due to it. "We deem it proper to implead the following authorities in the matter -- chief secretary, Delhi, member-secretary, Delhi Pollution Control Committee

NGT issues notice to Punjab CS, CPCB on pollution caused by stubble burning

Voicing concern over burning of crop residue that causes air pollution in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal has issued notices to the Punjab chief secretary and member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The NGT was hearing a petition it had initiated on its own (suo motu) following a media report highlighting a rise in farm fire incidents in Punjab. The report said stubble burning in the state around autumn was among the biggest contributors to pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR). A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel noted a report by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) which detailed the comparative data of three years on stubble burning incidents along with the names of hotspot districts known for farm fire incidents. Effective implementation of various measures is the key for controlling stubble burning in the state, the bench said on Friday. It said the state authorities, ..

Air pollution scare fuels purifier sales in India as winter sets in

The stores, which usually sell five to seven purifiers a day, sold 50 air purifiers in a single day, earlier this week

'Steps to curb pollution won't be effective till NCR states check sources'

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday demanded that the Centre impose a complete ban on firecrackers and allow movement of only CNG and electric vehicles in the entire National Capital Region in a bid to curb air pollution. Rai, in a letter to Bhupender Yadav, his counterpart at the Centre, said the Delhi government has taken numerous steps to curb air pollution during the winter season. "But these steps will not be effective until Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh deal with the sources of pollution in the NCR region." A report by independent environment think tank Centre for Science and Environment shows that 31 per cent of Delhi's pollution comes from sources within the national capital while 69 per cent is from sources in NCR states, he said. Rai demanded that the Centre convene an emergency meeting to discuss solutions to factors contributing to air pollution in the national capital. The states in the National Capital Region (NCR) should impose a complete ban on ..

Delhi govt approves premium bus service scheme to reduce vehicle usage

The Delhi government has approved a scheme for a premium bus service that aims at reducing intracity usage of private vehicles and help reduce pollution, officials said on Monday. The government uploaded the draft of the Delhi Motor Vehicles Licensing of Aggregator (Premium Buses) Scheme, 2023 on its website in August and sought public feedback. The city government hopes to encourage the middle and upper-middle classes to switch to public transport through the scheme. According to the scheme, a licence holder shall ensure that no premium bus shall be engaged or acquired with a registration date beyond three years from the date of notification of the scheme. "Subsequently, induction of any new Premium bus, the prevailing emission norms, BS-VI must be compliant, either Air-Conditioned CNG or electric buses. After January 1, 2025 the induction of only electric buses shall be allowed, no CNG-operated bus even if having BS-VI compliance shall be allowed to be inducted under this scheme,"

Delhi govt starts plantation drive to curb air pollution in winters

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched phase two of a sapling plantation drive in the city on Monday as part of efforts to reduce pollution during the winters and said the increase in green cover has improved the national capital's air quality over the last eight years. The second phase of the plantation drive began at Garhi Mandu in northeast Delhi. "We had set a target of planting 52 lakh saplings, including shrubs, this fiscal. We have already planted 40 lakh as part of our action plan to reduce pollution during the summer season. Now, we are commencing phase two of the plantation drive, during which the remaining 12 lakh saplings will be planted in the winter season," Rai told reporters. He expressed happiness over the New Delhi Municipal Council's campaign to plant 50 lakh saplings, saying it will help increase green cover in the city. The minister highlighted that Delhi's green cover has increased from 20 per cent to 23 per cent during the AAP government's tenure, lead

Delhi LG expresses concern over spike in stubble fires in Haryana, Punjab

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has written to the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana expressing concern over the rise in stubble fires in their states and asked them to take remedial measures to protect the national capital from increased air pollution during winter season. In his letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Saxena said it is "extremely worrisome" that the incidents of stubble burning between September 15 and October 11 have reached 1,063 -- 300 more than the figure for the corresponding period last year. Saxena had written to Mann last year as well when Delhi was choking under pollution caused by smoke from across its borders. "Between October 24, 2022 and November 2, 2022, there had been an increase of 19 per cent in the incidents of parali burning in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. You would also recall that last year, of the 5 states that affect Delhi's air quality, Punjab had remained the only non-performing outlier," said the ..

Delhi air in 'poor' zone on Saturday, min temp 2 notches above normal

The minimum temperature in the national capital on Saturday settled at 21.4 degree Celsius, two notches above the season's average, officials said. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 260, in the 'poor' category, around 8 am. The IMD has predicted a mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards afternoon or evening. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 36 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 83 per cent. 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', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

PM's Principal Secy chairs task force meeting on air quality in NCR

The Principal Secretary emphasised the need to shift to cleaner fuels and EVs and develop EV Charging facilities

Stubble burning: Delhi govt launches drive to spray bio-decomposer

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday launched a drive for spraying bio-decomposer in paddy fields in the capital to prevent stubble burning. Since 2020, the Delhi government has been using Pusa bio-decomposer, a microbial solution that decomposes paddy residue in 15-20 days, to prevent stubble burning in the capital. Farm fires are a major reason behind a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR in October-November. The government sprayed the bio-decomposer over 4,400 acres of paddy fields last year, Rai said, adding that 5,000 acres of land will be covered this season. The minister said stubble burning is rampant in Punjab, but he hoped that the number of farm fires would come down due to the steps taken by the AAP government in the agrarian state. According to the Union environment ministry, the maximum share of farm fires in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution stood at 34 per cent on November 3 last year and 48 per cent on November 7, 2021.

Teams formed to improve air quality at 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the city government has formed interdepartmental teams to improve air quality at the 13 air pollution hotspots in the capital. The 13 identified hotspots are Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Dwarka. These hotspots were identified based on the annual average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in these areas. At a press conference, Rai said specific action plans have been developed to identify and mitigate local sources of air pollution, with the goal of achieving an immediate improvement in air quality. He said an inventory of pollution sources reveals that construction work, emissions from diesel vehicles, broken roads, and traffic congestion are the primary reasons for poor air quality at Anand Vihar. Rai said, "Interdepartmental teams have been established to address these issues. We will deploy 12 mobile anti-smog guns to control dust pollution in t

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Send notice to anti-dust norms violators: Govt to pollution control panel

During the inspection process, Rai found that the various norms related to the anti-dust campaign were violated and instructed Delhi Pollution Control Committee to issue a notice regarding violations

SC seeks report on steps being taken to control air pollution in Delhi-NCR

On Wednesday, Priyanka Kakkar, a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the air quality in Delhi has been the best this year

Delhi's air quality 'poor' on Saturday, maximum temp settled at 35.5 deg C

Delhi's air quality was in the "poor" category on Saturday, and the maximum temperature settled at 35.5 degrees Celsius, one notch above season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature settled at 20.9 degree Celsius, a notch below the season's average, officials said. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was recorded at 214 at 7 pm. 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", and 401 and 500 "severe". On Friday, the Centre's air quality panel directed authorities in the National Capital Region to enforce a ban on coal usage in hotels and restaurants, and to take punitive measures against polluting industries and thermal power plants as the air quality in Delhi plunged into the "poor" category. This action comes as part of the government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP) which is

Gopal Rai launches anti-dust campaign in Delhi to combat air pollution

The Delhi Minister also informed that the first phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in Delhi aimed at curbing dust pollution in the capital

Gopal Rai launches month-long drive to combat dust pollution in Delhi

Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai Saturday launched a month-long drive to prevent dust pollution in the capital and said strict action will be taken against anyone found violating relevant norms. The Centre's air quality panel on Friday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to enforce a ban on coal usage in hotels and restaurants, and to take punitive measures against polluting industries and thermal power plants as the air quality in Delhi plunged into the 'poor' category. This action comes as part of the central government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP) which is implemented in Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution during the winter season. Rai said the "Anti-Dust Campaign" is being launched in view of the worsening air quality. "This will include measures such as the installation of dust control equipment at all sites exceeding 500 square metres, with real-time monitoring available through a web portal," he said. He said