India: Delhi's air quality falls in 'very poor' category with the AQI at 309

The air quality in India's national capital New Delhi, along with Gurugram and Noida fell from the category of 'poor' to 'very poor' in which the Air Quality Index (AQI) ranged from 221 to 341, creating an alarming situation for the residents in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Even after the Delhi government's 15-point winter action plan which was aimed at controlling the increasing pollution, the fight against deteriorating air quality continued.

Even though initiatives like 'Red Light on, Gaadi off' have been implemented as biomass burning emissions keep contributing to increasing PM2.5 levels, the haze continues to linger as 'Very Poor' air quality has been forecasted for the capital city from October 29 to 31, 2023.

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On Sunday (Oct 29), the national capital's overall air quality was recorded in the 'Very Poor' category, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India. In Delhi, the AQI was recorded at 309 on Sunday morning (Oct 29).

According to the latest data collected by SAFAR-India, the air quality near Delhi University was in the 'Very Poor' category with AQI recorded at 341 in the early morning hours while in the area around IIT, it was recorded at 300.

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Delhi's 15-point winter action plan

Meanwhile, in the area around Lodhi Road, the AQI was recorded at 262 and the air was categorised in the 'Poor' category. In its bulletin, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on the air quality of the national capital forecasted that predominant surface wind is likely to blow from different directions in the city and the wind speed is estimated to be around 04-08 kmph, which will lead to mist and clear sky in the morning on October 29.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday (Oct 27) had stated that they have implemented a 15-point winter action plan for curbing the pollution.

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"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce the pollution in the national capital," Rai said while speaking to the news agency ANI.

"Now the data says that in AQI the level of Particulate matter (PM) 10 is decreasing and that of PM2.5 is increasing. This means that pollution caused by vehicles and biomass burning is increasing. For this, the 'Red Light on, Gaadi off' campaign has been started," he added.

According to the daily bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI of Delhi was 304 as of 4 pm local time on October 28. From October 29 to 31, the air quality will be in the 'Very Poor' category, as per the Air Quality and Weather Bulletin for Delhi.

(With inputs from agencies)

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