Delhi Pollution: Next 15 to 20 days are critical, says Gopal Rai

Nov 01, 2023

New Delhi, Nov 01 (ANI): The overall air quality continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category in Delhi for the fourth day in a row on November 01. According to SAFAR-India (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 336. In Delhi University area and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (Pusa), quality of air was recorded as 'very poor' with AQI at 391 and 311, respectively. Notably, Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which is easy to understand. “From November 1, the next 15 to 20 days are critical... Scientists are saying that the temperature is dropping and the speed of air has decreased, so pollutants are at a lower level. Yesterday, AQI was nearly 350... Due to the work going on in the 13 hotspots in Delhi, the situation is fairly under control. At some hotspots, vehicle pollution’s contribution is high. Today there is a meeting of different departments to analyze GRAP-II, which was implemented in all of Delhi. We have asked for reports from different places to know what the sources of local pollution are...We have requested that the state governments send CNG or BS-VI buses from the depot itself...The report released by CAQM shows that stubble burning has reduced, but its impact can be seen on Delhi pollution,” said Gopal Rai. “The Air Quality Index today is in the ‘Very Poor’ category. It indicates that the air pollution level has gone up. This also says that our efforts have been a failure so far because the smoke from stubble burning has not even reached here yet. The pollution is rising due to causes in the city itself. The air has become still, and its speed is slowing down, causing an accumulation of pollution. Right now, we need strictness in our control measures so that the action plan can be implemented across the city. There are a lot of sources of pollution in Delhi. The city has industries, and commercial activity levels are very high too. This is a landlocked city. When the air becomes still and the mixing height comes down, the pollution starts accumulating very close to the ground. The temperature is going down and the air is growing dense, so pollution is building up. If our efforts are not very successful, the air quality can enter the severe category,” said Vivek Chattopadhyaya.