Air Pollution: Delhi Becomes 2nd Most Polluted City After Lahore, AQI Closes To 350

The air quality in the national capital started deteriorating on October 24 with the AQI slipping to the 'very poor' category from 'poor'.

Delhi Air Pollution: Air quality in the national capital has worsened further with the city’s AQI closing to 350. Delhi’s air on Friday morning was ‘very poor’ with an overall AQI of 329. The city was covered in a thick grey smog filled with dust. Delhi was ranked as the 2nd most polluted city in the world after Pakistan’s Lahore, according to IQAir. Delhi’s Anand Vihar area recorded the worst AQI of 350.

Readings below 50 are considered safe, 51 and 100 are “satisfactory” and anything above 300 is considered hazardous or “severe”.

The air quality in the national capital started deteriorating on October 24 with the AQI slipping to the ‘very poor’ category from ‘poor’.

Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) on October 25, a day after Diwali, was at 312, which was the second best for the Diwali day in seven years. Before this, the city had recorded an AQI of 281 on Diwali in 2018.

Reasons For Poor AQI In Delhi

• Industrial emissions
• Vehicular emissions
• Construction work
• Stubble burning in nearby states
• Diwali fireworks

Stubble Burning Is The Main Concern

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), 46 per cent of air pollution in Delhi is a result of stubble burning in the winter months. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana adds to the woes of Delhi. Despite, the Punjab government’s efforts the stubble burning continued as usual this year as well.

This year, the Delhi government has taken several steps to curb pollution including forming a Special Taskforce to track pollution. Delhi also witnessed an effective implementation of the ban on firecrackers. The Delhi Police set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the revenue department has set up 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has constituted 33 teams.

The Commission for Air Quality Management has also implemented pollution control measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the capital.

The four-stage action plan involves several steps to counter air pollution including stopping construction activities, prohibiting the use of diesel generators, increasing parking fees to discourage the use of private transport, prohibiting the entry of trucks into Delhi except for essential services, and even schools closures to limit children’s exposure to air pollution.