Page 22 - Air Quality

Oct AQI review: With 7 days in 'very poor' category, 2022 worse than 2021

The air quality in the national capital was in the 'very poor' category for 7 days as against zero last year. The AQI was in the 'poor' category for 10 days as against seven in 2021

Delhi records second-best air quality in October since 2015: CPCB data

A prolonged spell of rain in early October gave Delhi its second-best air quality in the month since 2015, when the Central Pollution Control Board started maintaining air quality index data. The capital recorded an average air quality index of 210, the best in the month after the average AQI of 173 recorded in October last year. The average AQI stood at 265 in 2020, 234 in 2019, 268 in 2018, 285 in 2017, 271 in 2016 and 264 in 2015. "Air quality deterioration is seasonal in our country. This is because of the intrusion of dust from neighbouring countries. Low wind speed leads to accumulation of pollutants. Stubble burning, excessive use of vehicles and construction work aid in accumulation of pollutants. "Implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan would surely reduce pollution levels," said Dipankar Saha, former chief of CPCB's air lab. The city recorded two 'good' air quality days, the highest in eight years, and four 'satisfactory' days in October owing to bountiful ...

Delhi's air quality on brink of turning 'severe', stubble burning share 22%

A layer of eye-stinging smog lingered over Delhi on Monday as its air quality neared the 'severe' zone with stubble burning accounting for 22 per cent of the city's PM2.5 pollution. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 392 (very poor), worsening from 352 on Sunday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali). 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". Low wind speed allowed pollutants to accumulate in the air and the situation might deteriorate to "severe" on Tuesday morning, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather. He said humidity may increase and the wind speed may reduce further from November 4 under the influence of a strong Western Disturbance leading to another episode of smog. According to SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of

Air quality panel orders closure of 24 industrial units in three weeks

The closure notices come after the commission conducted a total of 472 incognito inspections carried out by the Commission in industrial areas and construction projects across NCR

Punjab reports 9% rise in stubble burning incidents from last year: CAQM

Punjab reported 1,111 stubble burning incidents on Thursday

Post-Diwali air quality better than 2021 in several cities, shows CPCB data

Delhi air quality 'very poor' the day after; improvement over previous years

Delhi's AQI turns 'very poor'; max temp settle at 31.2 degrees Celsius

Delhi's air quality turned 'very poor' on Monday with its maximum temperature settling at 31.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average. The minimum temperature was recorded at 14.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average. Humidity levels oscillated between 43 per cent and 90 per cent. Delhiites woke up to a pleasant Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 14.9 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 82 per cent. The weather department had forecast mainly clear sky for the day with the maximum temperature likely to settle around 31 degrees Celsius. The air quality in Delhi on Diwali Monday turned "very poor" amid an increase in stubble burning, bursting of firecrackers and moderately unfavourable meteorological conditions which allowed accumulation of pollutants, according to Swiss organisation IQAir. Delhi on Diwali was the most polluted city in the world followed by Lah

Delhi records 'poor' air quality for 8th consecutive day; may turn 'severe'

Delhi's air quality was recorded in the "poor" category for the eighth consecutive day on Sunday and could turn "severe" on Diwali due to emissions from firecrackers and an increase in the share of smoke from stubble burning because of a favourable wind speed and direction. The capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 243 at 10 am. It was 265 at 4 pm on Saturday. Only one (Anand Vihar) of the 35 monitoring stations in the city recorded the air quality in the "very poor" category. 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". SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the air quality may deteriorate to "very poor" levels even if no firecrackers are burst. In case firecrackers are burst like last year, the air quality may plunge to "severe" levels on the night of Diwali itself and continue to remain in the "red" zone for ano

With AQI of 265, Delhi's air on day before Diwali least polluted in 7 years

Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 265 on Sunday, which was lowest for the day before Diwali in seven years, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed. Diwali will be celebrated across the country on Monday. 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". Last year, the AQI on November 3 (a day before Diwali) was 314. It had shot up to 382 on the Diwali day and 462 the next day. In 2020, Delhi recorded an AQI of 296 a day before Diwali (November 13), while it worsened to 414 on Diwali and 435 the day after. The capital logged an AQI of 287 on the day before the festival in 2019. It worsened to 337 on Diwali (October 27) and further to 368 the next day. The AQI was 338 on the day before Diwali in 2018. Interestingly, it improved to 281 on the Diwali day before aggravating to 390 the next day. The AQI was 302 and 404 on the day before Di

GRAP-II a call for pre-emptive action on Delhi-NCR's 'poor' air pollution

The 12-point action plan under GRAP II, among other measures, includes banning diesel generator sets and use of coal and firewood, including in tandoors in hotels, restaurants and open eateries

Delhi's air quality remains in poor category, AQI recorded at 247

The national capital on Sunday recorded a minimum temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The air quality in the city continued to remain in the poor category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 247 at 8 am. 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. The weather office has predicted mainly clear sky during the day. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 31 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. The relative humidity was recorded at 77 per cent at 8.30 am.

Air pollution may increase lungs, heart disease: Experts ahead of Diwali

People across the country are celebrating the festival of lights, however, the problem of air quality is also coming to the fore

Air quality-driven construction ban may delay realty projects in Delhi-NCR

568,000 housing units are under various stages of completion. Periodic bans by NGT, govt, or apex court in response to poor air quality have serious consequences, say experts

Moderate air quality in Delhi with min temperature at 19 degrees Celsius

Delhiites on Friday woke up to clear sky with the minimum temperature settling at 19 degrees Celsius. The weather office has predicted the maximum temperature is expected to settle at 31 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity was recorded at 84 per cent at 8:30 am. The minimum and maximum temperature readings on Thursday were 18.5 degrees Celsius and 30.3 degrees Celsius respectively. The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded in the moderate (128) category around 9:15 AM, data from the SAFAR showed. 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.

Delhi sees season's first fog; air quality enter poor category by weekend

Delhi reported the season's first episode of fog on Wednesday morning which lowered visibility levels to 350 metres in some parts of the capital. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 20.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal. The maximum temperature settled at around 31 degrees Celsius. Senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) R K Jenamani said the increased moisture content in the air due to a prolonged spell of rain and low temperatures led to the formation of moderate fog in Delhi. "This is the capital's first fog of the season," he said. According to the IMD, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is dense, 201 and 500 moderate, and 501 and 1,000 metres shallow . Another IMD official said visibility at the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, had dropped to 600 metres and to 350 metres at the Palam weather station at 8.30 am. This improved to 2,100 metres at Palam by 9 am and at Safdarjung

Why clean air comes at a premium under a central plan to reduce pollution

The NCAP is a pollution control initiative aimed at reducing the concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere by at least 20 per cent by 2024

Continuous light rain gives Delhi its second 'good' air day of year

A sustained spell of rain on Sunday brought a significant improvement in air quality in the capital, yielding the second "good" air day of the year, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The 24-hour average air quality index in the city was 48 at 4 pm. It was 56 on Saturday and 55 on Friday. The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (14), Gurugram (32) and Greater Noida (23) also recorded 'good' air quality. Noida recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 55 at 4pm, which falls in the "satisfactory" category. Before this, Delhi had recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 47 on September 16. 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'. The national capital has recorded 128 days of bad air quality (AQI is poor, very poor or severe) this year so far, the highest since 2017, when it saw 130 such days during the corresponding period. Delhi received 74 mm of .

Hyperlocal emissions behind spike in Delhi's air pollution after Dussehra

Delhi's air quality turned poor on Dussehra, though the early warning system of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology had predicted moderate to satisfactory air quality in the capital. IITM officials said that they did not record any substantial changes in parameters like temperature, wind speed and emissions from farm fires on October 5 and "hyperlocal emissions" could have impacted the air quality. The possible sources of these emissions could be the large number of effigies burnt on the occasion of Dussehra and during a political protest, they said. With the air quality in Delhi dropping to the 'poor' category on Wednesday, authorities in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been asked to strictly implement measures under "Stage 1" of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which include penal and legal action against polluting industrial units. The Centre's sub-committee on GRAP noted in a meeting that there has been a "sudden dip" in air quality parameters in the regio

Delhi's air quality turns 'poor'; CAQM to enforce stage-1 control measures

Measures under stage-1 of the Graded Response Action Plan will be enforced in the NCR with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management

Thermal plants not co-firing enough biomass likely to face penalty

The power ministry would also consider reducing coal supply to TPPs not complying with its policy on biomass co-firing, according to a Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change statement