By:&nbsp;Richard E. Peltier*

Not a day seems to go by without a story of an "airpocalypse," usually somewhere in a developing nation. It's hard not to empathize with the people in the smoggy images of New Delhi or Ulaanbataar or Kathmandu, often wearing masks, walking to school or work through soupy cloudiness.

Last year, a study found that more than 8 million people per year die early from air pollution exposure. This amounts to more deaths than the diarrheal disease, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined.

As a researcher in air pollution and its health effects, I know that even if you don't live in these places, air pollution likely still affects your quality of life. Here's what you need to know.

1. What exactly is air pollution?

Air pollution is a general term that usually describes a mixture of different chemicals that circulate in the air.

Invisible gases, like ozone or carbon monoxide, and tiny particles or droplets of liquids mix together in the atmosphere. Each molecule is impossible to see with the naked eye, but when trillions gather together, you can see them as haze.

These chemicals are almost always mixed together in varying amounts. Scientists do not yet understand how these different mixtures affect us. Each person responds differently to air pollution exposure – some people have few effects, while others, such as kids with asthma, might become very ill.

What's more, air pollution mixtures in a given location change over time. Changes can occur quickly over a few hours or gradually over months.

Short-term increases in air pollution from, for example, heavy traffic in rush hour, can make us sick. Such pollution occurs year-round. But seasonal pollutants, such as ozone, usually occur only in the warmest and sunniest parts of the year. What's more, the amount of ozone in the air also goes up and down through the day – generally highest in the afternoons and lowest in the early mornings.

These variations can make it quite difficult for environmental health scientists and epidemiologists to know precisely how air pollution can affect humans.

A calendar showing particulate matter concentration in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia in 2017. Note the highest concentrations appear in wintertime. The unusual increase in pollution in July corresponds with a Mongolian holiday.

2. Where does air pollution come from?

You might imagine air pollution as smoke pouring out of a factory chimney or the tailpipe of a car.

While these are important sources of air pollution, there are many others. Air pollution includes chemicals humans put into the atmosphere and chemicals released by natural events. For example, forest fires are a large source of air pollutants that affect many communities. Dust that's picked up by wind can also contribute to poor air quality.

Ronald Reagan famously said that "trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." While this myth has been debunked, he was right in at least some ways. Trees do release certain gases, such as volatile organic carbon, that are ingredients in air pollution chemistry. This, when mixed together with emissions from cars and industry, leads to increases in other types of pollution, such as ozone.

There isn't much that scientists can, or should, do about tree emissions. Public health researchers like myself focus most on the ingredients from human activities – from burning petroleum to emissions controls on industrial facilities – because these are sources located close to where people live and work.

There are also many chemical reactions that occur in the air itself. These reactions create what are known as secondary pollutants, some of which are quite toxic.

Finally, it's important to realize that air pollution knows no boundaries. If a pollutant is emitted in one location, it very easily moves across borders – both regional and national – to different places. New Delhi, for example, experiences seasonal pollution, thanks to extensive burning of agricultural fields some 200 miles away.

New Delhi is an extreme example. But, even if you live in a less polluted environment, pollutants emitted elsewhere often travel to where other people live and work, as seen in recent wildfires in California.

3. How do we know that air pollution causes problems?

This is a tricky question, because air pollution is a hidden problem that acts as a trigger for many health problems. Plenty of people suffer from asthma and lung diseases, heart attacks and cancer, and all of these are linked to particulate matter exposure. The best evidence to date suggests that the higher the dose of air pollution, the worse our response will be.

Unfortunately, there are many other things that lead to these diseases, too: poor diet, your inherited genes, or whether you have access to high quality medical care or you smoke cigarettes, for example. This makes figuring out the cause of a specific illness attributed to air pollution exposure much more difficult.

Every health study provides a slightly different result, because each study observes a different group of people and usually different types of air pollution. Scientists usually report their results based on any change in risk of developing a disease from air pollution, or based on whether your odds of developing a certain disease might change.

For example, a study in Taiwan looked at concentrations of particulate matter averaged over two years. The researchers found that, for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase in particulate matter, the odds of developing high blood pressure increased by about 3 percent. This could suggest that if an increase of particulate matter concentration in any community might lead to an increase in high blood pressure.

Conversely, scientists usually assume that decreases in air pollution lead to decreases in diseases.

4. Why does this matter to you?

A typical adult takes around 20,000 breaths per day. Whether or not you become sick from air pollution depends on the amount and type of chemicals you inhale, and whether you might be susceptible to these diseases.

For someone living in polluted New Delhi, for example, those 20,000 breaths include the equivalent of around 20 grains of table salt worth of particulate matter deposited in their lungs each day. While this may not seem like much, keep in mind that this particulate matter isn’t harmless table salt – it's a mixture of chemicals that come from burning materials, unburned oils, metals and even biological material.

And this doesn’t include any of the pollutants that are gases, like ozone or carbon monoxide or oxides of nitrogen.

The U.S. and Europe have made excellent progress in reducing air pollution concentrations over the past couple of decades, largely by crafting effective air quality regulation.

However, in the U.S. today, where environmental laws are being methodically dismantled, there is a bigger worry that policymakers are simply choosing to ignore science. One new member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory board is Robert Phalen of the University of California, Irvine, who has suggested that "modern air is too clean for optimum health."

This goes against thousands of research papers and is certainly not true. While some components of air pollution have little effect on human health, this should not be used to muddy our understanding of air pollution exposure. This is a common tactic to confuse the public with unimportant statistics in order to sow confusion, presumably with an underlying intent to influence policy.

The evidence is clear: Air pollution exposure is lethal and causes death across the world. That should be important to all of us.

*Richard E. Peltier is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst

(This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-air-pollution-making-you-sick-4-questions-answered-91605">original article</a>.)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

A study found that more than 8 million people per year die early from air pollution exposure

By: Richard E. Peltier* Not a day seems to go by without a story of an "airpocalypse," usually somewhere in a developing nation. It's hard not to empathize with the people in the smoggy images of New Delhi or Ulaanbataar or Kathmandu, often wearing masks, walking to school or work through soupy cloudiness. Last year, a study found that more than 8 million people per year die early from air pollution exposure. This amounts to more deaths than the diarrheal disease, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. As a researcher in air pollution and its health effects, I know that even if you don't live in these places, air pollution likely still affects your quality of life. Here's what you need to know. 1. What exactly is air pollution? Air pollution is a general term that usually describes a mixture of different chemicals that circulate in the air. Invisible gases, like ozone or carbon monoxide, and tiny particles or droplets of liquids mix together in the atmosphere. Each molecule is impossible to see with the naked eye, but when trillions gather together, you can see them as haze. These chemicals are almost always mixed together in varying amounts. Scientists do not yet understand how these different mixtures affect us. Each person responds differently to air pollution exposure – some people have few effects, while others, such as kids with asthma, might become very ill. What's more, air pollution mixtures in a given location change over time. Changes can occur quickly over a few hours or gradually over months. Short-term increases in air pollution from, for example, heavy traffic in rush hour, can make us sick. Such pollution occurs year-round. But seasonal pollutants, such as ozone, usually occur only in the warmest and sunniest parts of the year. What's more, the amount of ozone in the air also goes up and down through the day – generally highest in the afternoons and lowest in the early mornings. These variations can make it quite difficult for environmental health scientists and epidemiologists to know precisely how air pollution can affect humans. A calendar showing particulate matter concentration in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia in 2017. Note the highest concentrations appear in wintertime. The unusual increase in pollution in July corresponds with a Mongolian holiday. 2. Where does air pollution come from? You might imagine air pollution as smoke pouring out of a factory chimney or the tailpipe of a car. While these are important sources of air pollution, there are many others. Air pollution includes chemicals humans put into the atmosphere and chemicals released by natural events. For example, forest fires are a large source of air pollutants that affect many communities. Dust that's picked up by wind can also contribute to poor air quality. Ronald Reagan famously said that "trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." While this myth has been debunked, he was right in at least some ways. Trees do release certain gases, such as volatile organic carbon, that are ingredients in air pollution chemistry. This, when mixed together with emissions from cars and industry, leads to increases in other types of pollution, such as ozone. There isn't much that scientists can, or should, do about tree emissions. Public health researchers like myself focus most on the ingredients from human activities – from burning petroleum to emissions controls on industrial facilities – because these are sources located close to where people live and work. There are also many chemical reactions that occur in the air itself. These reactions create what are known as secondary pollutants, some of which are quite toxic. Finally, it's important to realize that air pollution knows no boundaries. If a pollutant is emitted in one location, it very easily moves across borders – both regional and national – to different places. New Delhi, for example, experiences seasonal pollution, thanks to extensive burning of agricultural fields some 200 miles away. New Delhi is an extreme example. But, even if you live in a less polluted environment, pollutants emitted elsewhere often travel to where other people live and work, as seen in recent wildfires in California. 3. How do we know that air pollution causes problems? This is a tricky question, because air pollution is a hidden problem that acts as a trigger for many health problems. Plenty of people suffer from asthma and lung diseases, heart attacks and cancer, and all of these are linked to particulate matter exposure. The best evidence to date suggests that the higher the dose of air pollution, the worse our response will be. Unfortunately, there are many other things that lead to these diseases, too: poor diet, your inherited genes, or whether you have access to high quality medical care or you smoke cigarettes, for example. This makes figuring out the cause of a specific illness attributed to air pollution exposure much more difficult. Every health study provides a slightly different result, because each study observes a different group of people and usually different types of air pollution. Scientists usually report their results based on any change in risk of developing a disease from air pollution, or based on whether your odds of developing a certain disease might change. For example, a study in Taiwan looked at concentrations of particulate matter averaged over two years. The researchers found that, for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase in particulate matter, the odds of developing high blood pressure increased by about 3 percent. This could suggest that if an increase of particulate matter concentration in any community might lead to an increase in high blood pressure. Conversely, scientists usually assume that decreases in air pollution lead to decreases in diseases. 4. Why does this matter to you? A typical adult takes around 20,000 breaths per day. Whether or not you become sick from air pollution depends on the amount and type of chemicals you inhale, and whether you might be susceptible to these diseases. For someone living in polluted New Delhi, for example, those 20,000 breaths include the equivalent of around 20 grains of table salt worth of particulate matter deposited in their lungs each day. While this may not seem like much, keep in mind that this particulate matter isn’t harmless table salt – it's a mixture of chemicals that come from burning materials, unburned oils, metals and even biological material. And this doesn’t include any of the pollutants that are gases, like ozone or carbon monoxide or oxides of nitrogen. The U.S. and Europe have made excellent progress in reducing air pollution concentrations over the past couple of decades, largely by crafting effective air quality regulation. However, in the U.S. today, where environmental laws are being methodically dismantled, there is a bigger worry that policymakers are simply choosing to ignore science. One new member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory board is Robert Phalen of the University of California, Irvine, who has suggested that "modern air is too clean for optimum health." This goes against thousands of research papers and is certainly not true. While some components of air pollution have little effect on human health, this should not be used to muddy our understanding of air pollution exposure. This is a common tactic to confuse the public with unimportant statistics in order to sow confusion, presumably with an underlying intent to influence policy. The evidence is clear: Air pollution exposure is lethal and causes death across the world. That should be important to all of us. *Richard E. Peltier is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Is air pollution making you sick? 4 questions answered

People around the world are celebrating Earth Day on Sunday to celebrate and honour Earth.

Various events are being held across the world in order to show their support for environmental issues and encourage each and every individual to take steps towards the environment&nbspprotection.

Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week with an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces. In 2017, the March for Science occurred on Earth day (April 22, 2017) and was followed by the People's Climate Mobilization (April 29, 2017)

Here is everything you want to know about the day!

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and was founded by the United States Senator Gaylor Nelson as an environmental teach-in to encourage make people aware of the environment issues.

Earth Day Network is the organisation who leads Earth Day celebrations worldwide.

The day was first limited to United States only, However, with efforts of a Denis Hayes's organisation launched this event worldwide in 1990. He organised events in 141 nations in a collective coordination.

In 1969 the incident of Santa Barbara oil blowout and protests that were followed prompted the idea of a day dedicated to earth only in which more than three million gallons of oil spewed, killing 10,000 seabirds, dolphines, seals and sea lions.

According to reports currently, more than 1 billion people take part in Earth Day activities every year and put environmental issues on the world stage.

For this year's earth day the theme is 'end plastic pollution' which will be focused on to provide the information and inspiration needed to eventually end plastic pollution. This year various talks will be held to spread awareness regarding the plastic pollution and how recyling it is not enough and what other measure people can take to tackle the global crisis.

 
&nbsp

&nbsp

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and was founded by the United States Senator Gaylor Nelson as an environmental teach-in to encourage make people aware of the environment issues

People around the world are celebrating Earth Day on Sunday to celebrate and honour Earth. Various events are being held across the world in order to show their support for environmental issues and encourage each and every individual to take steps towards the environment&nbspprotection. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week with an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces. In 2017, the March for Science occurred on Earth day (April 22, 2017) and was followed by the People's Climate Mobilization (April 29, 2017) Here is everything you want to know about the day! Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and was founded by the United States Senator Gaylor Nelson as an environmental teach-in to encourage make people aware of the environment issues. Earth Day Network is the organisation who leads Earth Day celebrations worldwide. The day was first limited to United States only, However, with efforts of a Denis Hayes's organisation launched this event worldwide in 1990. He organised events in 141 nations in a collective coordination. In 1969 the incident of Santa Barbara oil blowout and protests that were followed prompted the idea of a day dedicated to earth only in which more than three million gallons of oil spewed, killing 10,000 seabirds, dolphines, seals and sea lions. According to reports currently, more than 1 billion people take part in Earth Day activities every year and put environmental issues on the world stage. For this year's earth day the theme is 'end plastic pollution' which will be focused on to provide the information and inspiration needed to eventually end plastic pollution. This year various talks will be held to spread awareness regarding the plastic pollution and how recyling it is not enough and what other measure people can take to tackle the global crisis.

Earth Day: Everything you want to know

The number of pollution sources in China has increased by more than half in eight years, the environment ministry said on Thursday as it embarks on a nationwide survey to determine the damage done by more than 30 years of untrammelled growth.

The announcement from the newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) underlines the challenges facing China, in its fifth year of a war on air, water and soil pollution, as it tries to crack down on data fraud and improve monitoring.

The government is currently conducting a second nationwide "environmental census" aimed at identifying pollution threats throughout the country. The first was published in 2010.

"The goal for the census is to do thorough data collection so that it can reflect the extent of the pollution," Hong Yaxiong, the head of the ministry's pollution survey office, told reporters at the first regular briefing since the beefed-up ministry was created this month.

The environment ministry absorbed new duties formerly held by the land, water and agriculture ministries as part of the biggest government shake-up in years. It will also now be in charge of climate change and carbon emissions.

The new census is due to be completed in 2019. According to preliminary estimates, the total number of pollution sources now stands at 9 million, including 7.4 million industrial sources, 1 million in rural areas and 0.5 million from urban locations, Hong said.

The first census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics from 2007 to 2009, uncovered 5.9 million sources of pollution nationwide, with the industrial provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang at the top of the list.

The survey also identified 209.8 billion tonnes of wastewater, 63.7 trillion cubic metres of waste gas emissions and 3.852 billion tonnes of industrial solid waste nationwide.

Started last year, the second census will widen its scope to include industrial parks, rural pollution sources, boilers, municipal and wastewater outlets, and it will also survey soil pollution sources such as mercury, cadmium or lead.

The newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced

The number of pollution sources in China has increased by more than half in eight years, the environment ministry said on Thursday as it embarks on a nationwide survey to determine the damage done by more than 30 years of untrammelled growth. The announcement from the newly minted Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) underlines the challenges facing China, in its fifth year of a war on air, water and soil pollution, as it tries to crack down on data fraud and improve monitoring. The government is currently conducting a second nationwide "environmental census" aimed at identifying pollution threats throughout the country. The first was published in 2010. "The goal for the census is to do thorough data collection so that it can reflect the extent of the pollution," Hong Yaxiong, the head of the ministry's pollution survey office, told reporters at the first regular briefing since the beefed-up ministry was created this month. The environment ministry absorbed new duties formerly held by the land, water and agriculture ministries as part of the biggest government shake-up in years. It will also now be in charge of climate change and carbon emissions. The new census is due to be completed in 2019. According to preliminary estimates, the total number of pollution sources now stands at 9 million, including 7.4 million industrial sources, 1 million in rural areas and 0.5 million from urban locations, Hong said. The first census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics from 2007 to 2009, uncovered 5.9 million sources of pollution nationwide, with the industrial provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang at the top of the list. The survey also identified 209.8 billion tonnes of wastewater, 63.7 trillion cubic metres of waste gas emissions and 3.852 billion tonnes of industrial solid waste nationwide. Started last year, the second census will widen its scope to include industrial parks, rural pollution sources, boilers, municipal and wastewater outlets, and it will also survey soil pollution sources such as mercury, cadmium or lead.

China pollution sources up by more than half since 2010: Official

In the wake of escalating air pollution and dipping air quality, Delhi has switched to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) fuel. According to oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan's directive, state-run fuel retailers were supposed to supply BS-VI fuel&nbsp;in the capital city from April 1, 2018.&nbsp;

The move makes Delhi the first city in the country to run on BS-VI fuels. The Centre had decided to roll-out BS-VI fuels across the country by 2020. &nbsp;

BS-VI fuels are believed to perform better than CNG when it comes to emissions. However, some say that introducing the fuel to vehicles not compatible will not yield benefits as desired.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Both NOx and PM emissions by Heavy Duty Vehicles will come down significantly. <a href="https://t.co/FAmzBGzraB">pic.twitter.com/FAmzBGzraB</a>
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/dpradhanbjp/status/930795001537183744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

According to reports, the decision to go ahead with BS-VI fuels before the set deadline came in the wake of worsening air quality in the capital city.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today asked the Centre to see if BS-VI fuel can be introduced in thirteen metro cities by April 2019.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Early migration to BS-VI fuels in the National Capital of Delhi will help in saving thousands of precious lives by bringing down vehicular pollution significantly. <a href="https://t.co/7r2lCCYeUP">pic.twitter.com/7r2lCCYeUP</a>
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/dpradhanbjp/status/930793329968562176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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The next-generation fuel is equivalent to Euro-VI and will reduce sulphur emissions by 80 per cent, compared to the existing BS-IV fuel standards, according to reports. But the two-stage leapfrog to implement the world's toughest vehicle emission standards is also likely to spike prices of vehicles.

''Happy to share that government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi with effect from 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas,'' read Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's tweet that was posted last year in November.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Happy to share that Government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi w.e.f. 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/dpradhanbjp/status/930734329331834881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

The move makes Delhi the first city in the country to run on BS-VI fuels

In the wake of escalating air pollution and dipping air quality, Delhi has switched to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) fuel. According to oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan's directive, state-run fuel retailers were supposed to supply BS-VI fuel in the capital city from April 1, 2018. The move makes Delhi the first city in the country to run on BS-VI fuels. The Centre had decided to roll-out BS-VI fuels across the country by 2020. BS-VI fuels are believed to perform better than CNG when it comes to emissions. However, some say that introducing the fuel to vehicles not compatible will not yield benefits as desired. Both NOx and PM emissions by Heavy Duty Vehicles will come down significantly. pic.twitter.com/FAmzBGzraB — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 15, 2017 × According to reports, the decision to go ahead with BS-VI fuels before the set deadline came in the wake of worsening air quality in the capital city. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today asked the Centre to see if BS-VI fuel can be introduced in thirteen metro cities by April 2019. Early migration to BS-VI fuels in the National Capital of Delhi will help in saving thousands of precious lives by bringing down vehicular pollution significantly. pic.twitter.com/7r2lCCYeUP — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 15, 2017 × The next-generation fuel is equivalent to Euro-VI and will reduce sulphur emissions by 80 per cent, compared to the existing BS-IV fuel standards, according to reports. But the two-stage leapfrog to implement the world's toughest vehicle emission standards is also likely to spike prices of vehicles. ''Happy to share that government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi with effect from 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas,'' read Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's tweet that was posted last year in November. Happy to share that Government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi w.e.f. 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas. — Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 15, 2017 ×

BS-VI fuel makes debut in Delhi in fight against pollution

In a bid to control air pollution a German court is now considering banning diesel cars in its cities. Experts believe that the move, if materialises, may hamper the country&#39;s powerful auto industry.

Germany&#39;s Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig will announce its decision later today after hearing an appeal by two German states.

Some of the preliminary court cases were initiated by the group &#39;Environmental Action Germany&#39;. The group has often blamed the government for putting automakers&#39; interests before public health.

Germany, among other countries, has long been pressurised by the European Union to tackle increasing air pollution.

The country has recently been working on a series of measures to reduce harmful emissions such as promoting the use of electric vehicles and public transport, et cetera.&nbsp;

On the other hand, the ban is also believed to wreak havoc on industries and services that are heavily diesel reliant.&nbsp;

Germany, among other countries, has long been pressurised by the European Union to tackle increasing air pollution

In a bid to control air pollution a German court is now considering banning diesel cars in its cities. Experts believe that the move, if materialises, may hamper the country's powerful auto industry. Germany's Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig will announce its decision later today after hearing an appeal by two German states. Some of the preliminary court cases were initiated by the group 'Environmental Action Germany'. The group has often blamed the government for putting automakers' interests before public health. Germany, among other countries, has long been pressurised by the European Union to tackle increasing air pollution. The country has recently been working on a series of measures to reduce harmful emissions such as promoting the use of electric vehicles and public transport, et cetera. On the other hand, the ban is also believed to wreak havoc on industries and services that are heavily diesel reliant.

German court considers banning diesel cars to tackle pollution

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced that special measures will be implemented to tackle the rising pollution levels in Delhi and it&#39;s adjoining regions.&nbsp;

The budget focused on the problems people are suffering from the pollution and assured to provide ways to manage crop residue, a major reason behind the rising level of pollution.

&quot;Air Pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern, special scheme will be implemented to support Govts of Haryana, Punjab,UP and Delhi NCT to address it and subsidize machinery for management of crop residue.&quot;

Jaitley is presenting the last full budget of NDA government.&nbsp;

Earlier, a high-level task force headed by Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, released a 12-point draft plan to tackle pollution in Delhi NCR.

The draft included measures such as a crop-burning management plan, annual studies on air quality and steps to bolster the region&rsquo;s crumbling public transport system. 
&nbsp;

Jaitley is presenting the last full budget of NDA government.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced that special measures will be implemented to tackle the rising pollution levels in Delhi and it's adjoining regions. The budget focused on the problems people are suffering from the pollution and assured to provide ways to manage crop residue, a major reason behind the rising level of pollution. "Air Pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern, special scheme will be implemented to support Govts of Haryana, Punjab,UP and Delhi NCT to address it and subsidize machinery for management of crop residue." Jaitley is presenting the last full budget of NDA government. Earlier, a high-level task force headed by Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, released a 12-point draft plan to tackle pollution in Delhi NCR. The draft included measures such as a crop-burning management plan, annual studies on air quality and steps to bolster the region’s crumbling public transport system.

Budget 2018 focusses on rising pollution in Delhi-NCR, Jaitley assures special measures

The Union environment ministry has notified specific rules for certain cities to implement measures to reduce dust.&nbsp;

The directive comes under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 according to which cities with particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) above recommended levels must take up measures to improve the quality of air.&nbsp;

Particulate matter (PM10 and PM25) measures the amount and size of dust particle present in the air.&nbsp;

The environment ministry issued detailed guidelines on dust mitigation close to a couple of months back.&nbsp;

The standards are developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The environment ministry is now equipped with the power to issue notices against local authorities and state agencies for non-implementation of actions.&nbsp;

While Delhi/NCR already has stringent pollution-control measures in place, the new guidelines will also bring in other cities to start implementing these measures.

The rule came into force on January 25 and states that building or infrastructure projects will not get environmental clearance without implementing dust mitigation measures.

Some of the key measures to be adopted by building and construction projects require&nbsp;them to black-top&nbsp;all roads that lead to the construction sites. Excavation activities will also not be permitted without adequate dust mitigation measures in place. Sand, soil and construction-related waste must be kept covered within an earmarked area.&nbsp;

According to official CPCB over 190 Indian cities and towns exceeded the prescribed PM10 limit in 2016; 31 recorded hazardous PM2.5 standard.

 
&nbsp;

The directive comes under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

The Union environment ministry has notified specific rules for certain cities to implement measures to reduce dust. The directive comes under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 according to which cities with particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) above recommended levels must take up measures to improve the quality of air. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM25) measures the amount and size of dust particle present in the air. The environment ministry issued detailed guidelines on dust mitigation close to a couple of months back. The standards are developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The environment ministry is now equipped with the power to issue notices against local authorities and state agencies for non-implementation of actions. While Delhi/NCR already has stringent pollution-control measures in place, the new guidelines will also bring in other cities to start implementing these measures. The rule came into force on January 25 and states that building or infrastructure projects will not get environmental clearance without implementing dust mitigation measures. Some of the key measures to be adopted by building and construction projects require them to black-top all roads that lead to the construction sites. Excavation activities will also not be permitted without adequate dust mitigation measures in place. Sand, soil and construction-related waste must be kept covered within an earmarked area. According to official CPCB over 190 Indian cities and towns exceeded the prescribed PM10 limit in 2016; 31 recorded hazardous PM2.5 standard.

Polluted cities must manage dust to control pollution: Environment Ministry

The Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, Government of India released the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, 2020. The Plan came the with a view to enhance national energy security, mitigate adverse environmental impacts, including CO2, from road transport vehicles and boost domestic manufacturing capabilities for electric vehicles.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Urban transport planning in India has to address numerous challenges which include deteriorating air quality, rising greenhouse gas emissions, and adverse energy security risks. There is an increasing consensus among planners that a range of additional measures will be required, beyond the existing policies, to mitigate the adverse impacts of transport on these sustainability indicators. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer alternate mobility options that can help to redress these adverse impacts.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

EVs so far have remained on the fringe. However, technology and battery advancements are making EVs more attractive to the consumer due to convenience and affordability. The transport sector, which is amongst the largest energy consuming sectors, is globally overly dependent on liquid fossil fuels. 93% of all the fuel used in transport sector was oil based in 2010. The sector is also a major source of GHG emissions and accounts for 22 % of total global energy-related CO2 emissions.

&nbsp;

Transport sector energy demand and CO2 emissions would increase at a rapid rate over the next few decades. Realising the threat it poses, emission mitigation and reducing energy consumption in the transport sector have been at the centre of national as well as global energy and environmental policy debates in the recent years.

&nbsp;

One of the key ways in which future emissions can be avoided is through the development and use of low carbon technologies. In the context of decarbonising transport, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are one such option for CO2 mitigation from light-duty vehicle fleet.

&nbsp;

However, the big question is &lsquo;Would India be EV ready by 2030&rsquo;?

&nbsp;

The Indian Government wants to achieve the mission by 2030 and replace all the ICE(Internal Combustion Engine) with Electric Vehicles. However, Currently EV&rsquo;s have less than 1% market share and 95% of this market is constituted by Electric Scooters.

&nbsp;

In numbers, we have currently around 2000 EV&rsquo;s while the number of Petrol or Diesel Cars is 30,46,727. We have only one manufacturer producing Electric Vehicle i.e. Mahindra, and the cost of its electric cars comes around Rs 6 lakhs to Rs 11 lakhs with a mileage of around 140 km on a full charge.

&nbsp;

If we talk about the charging stations, India currently has around 500 charging stations. To make it scalable, however, Delhi alone will need around 3 lakh charging stations to make the EV&rsquo;s a true success.

&nbsp;

If we do a fact check with other countries, India has set a timeline of 2030 for the new ICE, Scotland has set it to be 2032, France and England have set the deadline to be 2040.

&nbsp;

Which clearly shows that India has definitely set itself against a hugely ambitious target.

&nbsp;

Will it be able to achieve it?

&nbsp;

According to Mr Amitabh Kant, the CEO of Niti Aayog, &ldquo;despite all these challenges, India has an advantage, per capita usage of cars in India is 20 per 1000 people while the same number for America is 800 per 1000 person, thus we will need to tweak our infrastructure at a very small scale in comparison to what the U.S. has to do&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Moreover, in India, 80% of the transportation happens within 5 km radius. Therefore, the first impetus of government would be to bring change in the public transport. According to him, in 2026, prices of EV&rsquo;s will be equivalent to cars running on diesel or petrol.

&nbsp;

So, while the current scenario gives a grim picture of Electric Vehicles and, on the other hand, the government has made big promises, Amitabh Kant of Niti Aayog believes that India stands at an advantage point when it comes to accepting EV&rsquo;s.

&nbsp;

Then, What are the challenges which manufacturers are facing currently?

&nbsp;

Roadmap for EV: We still need a clear Roadmap for EV in terms of whether we are moving with the Battery Swapping or Charging stations.

&nbsp;

Fiscal Incentive: Mahindra has a long-pending request for subsidy for its Electric Vehicle, however, Government is not in any mood for a subsidy and wants automobile manufacturer to figure it out.

&nbsp;

We need to realise that China has become the 2nd biggest EV&rsquo;s manufacturer in 2 years is because of its clear roadmap and the subsidy it provided for the Electric Vehicles.

&nbsp;

Tax Parity: Currently, the Hybrid is taxed at 28%, EV are taxed at 12% and batteries are taxed at 28%. Therefore, if a manufacturer moves towards a battery swapping model then they have to pay 12% tax on car and separate 28% tax on the batteries and battery being a major component of EV&rsquo;s, it will increase the cost drastically for the consumer.

&nbsp;

Irrespective of, whatever happens, we should learn from our CNG experience and should not create a situation, where all the cars are standing in line at the charging stations to get charged at the night.

&nbsp;

Moreover, the government needs to come up with a clearer roadmap and should think of every segment as a different trajectory i.e. In EV&rsquo;S adoption &ndash; 2-wheeler will have its own pace, while 3-wheeler will have its own and similarly the passenger vehicles.

&nbsp;

In the end, we should make sure that the power required by these EV&rsquo;S is not produced by coal, else we will end up creating the same amount of pollution or more without ever solving the problem which we wanted to solve at the first step.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

Today is World Automobile Day, Electric Vehicles have less than 1% market share and 95% of this market is constituted by Electric Scooters.

The Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, Government of India released the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, 2020. The Plan came the with a view to enhance national energy security, mitigate adverse environmental impacts, including CO2, from road transport vehicles and boost domestic manufacturing capabilities for electric vehicles. Urban transport planning in India has to address numerous challenges which include deteriorating air quality, rising greenhouse gas emissions, and adverse energy security risks. There is an increasing consensus among planners that a range of additional measures will be required, beyond the existing policies, to mitigate the adverse impacts of transport on these sustainability indicators. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer alternate mobility options that can help to redress these adverse impacts. EVs so far have remained on the fringe. However, technology and battery advancements are making EVs more attractive to the consumer due to convenience and affordability. The transport sector, which is amongst the largest energy consuming sectors, is globally overly dependent on liquid fossil fuels. 93% of all the fuel used in transport sector was oil based in 2010. The sector is also a major source of GHG emissions and accounts for 22 % of total global energy-related CO2 emissions. Transport sector energy demand and CO2 emissions would increase at a rapid rate over the next few decades. Realising the threat it poses, emission mitigation and reducing energy consumption in the transport sector have been at the centre of national as well as global energy and environmental policy debates in the recent years. One of the key ways in which future emissions can be avoided is through the development and use of low carbon technologies. In the context of decarbonising transport, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are one such option for CO2 mitigation from light-duty vehicle fleet. However, the big question is ‘Would India be EV ready by 2030’? The Indian Government wants to achieve the mission by 2030 and replace all the ICE(Internal Combustion Engine) with Electric Vehicles. However, Currently EV’s have less than 1% market share and 95% of this market is constituted by Electric Scooters. In numbers, we have currently around 2000 EV’s while the number of Petrol or Diesel Cars is 30,46,727. We have only one manufacturer producing Electric Vehicle i.e. Mahindra, and the cost of its electric cars comes around Rs 6 lakhs to Rs 11 lakhs with a mileage of around 140 km on a full charge. If we talk about the charging stations, India currently has around 500 charging stations. To make it scalable, however, Delhi alone will need around 3 lakh charging stations to make the EV’s a true success. If we do a fact check with other countries, India has set a timeline of 2030 for the new ICE, Scotland has set it to be 2032, France and England have set the deadline to be 2040. Which clearly shows that India has definitely set itself against a hugely ambitious target. Will it be able to achieve it? According to Mr Amitabh Kant, the CEO of Niti Aayog, “despite all these challenges, India has an advantage, per capita usage of cars in India is 20 per 1000 people while the same number for America is 800 per 1000 person, thus we will need to tweak our infrastructure at a very small scale in comparison to what the U.S. has to do” Moreover, in India, 80% of the transportation happens within 5 km radius. Therefore, the first impetus of government would be to bring change in the public transport. According to him, in 2026, prices of EV’s will be equivalent to cars running on diesel or petrol. So, while the current scenario gives a grim picture of Electric Vehicles and, on the other hand, the government has made big promises, Amitabh Kant of Niti Aayog believes that India stands at an advantage point when it comes to accepting EV’s. Then, What are the challenges which manufacturers are facing currently? Roadmap for EV: We still need a clear Roadmap for EV in terms of whether we are moving with the Battery Swapping or Charging stations. Fiscal Incentive: Mahindra has a long-pending request for subsidy for its Electric Vehicle, however, Government is not in any mood for a subsidy and wants automobile manufacturer to figure it out. We need to realise that China has become the 2nd biggest EV’s manufacturer in 2 years is because of its clear roadmap and the subsidy it provided for the Electric Vehicles. Tax Parity: Currently, the Hybrid is taxed at 28%, EV are taxed at 12% and batteries are taxed at 28%. Therefore, if a manufacturer moves towards a battery swapping model then they have to pay 12% tax on car and separate 28% tax on the batteries and battery being a major component of EV’s, it will increase the cost drastically for the consumer. Irrespective of, whatever happens, we should learn from our CNG experience and should not create a situation, where all the cars are standing in line at the charging stations to get charged at the night. Moreover, the government needs to come up with a clearer roadmap and should think of every segment as a different trajectory i.e. In EV’S adoption – 2-wheeler will have its own pace, while 3-wheeler will have its own and similarly the passenger vehicles. In the end, we should make sure that the power required by these EV’S is not produced by coal, else we will end up creating the same amount of pollution or more without ever solving the problem which we wanted to solve at the first step. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Is India ready for Electric Vehicles?

As dense fog enveloped parts of North India earlier today as another collision took place on the Lucknow-Agra expressway.

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Uttar Pradesh: Dense fog engulfs Lucknow as cold wave intensifies <a href="https://t.co/PP2Skyx5OP">pic.twitter.com/PP2Skyx5OP</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/942977006970404865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Reportedly, ten cars collided with&nbsp;each other due&nbsp;to low visibility caused by dense fog near Bangarmau near Unnao in&nbsp;Uttar Pradesh.

Multiples injuries have been reported with no account of the loss of life so far.&nbsp;

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Uttar Pradesh: Multiple injuries caused in collision between ten cars due to dense fog on Lucknow-Agra expressway near Bangarmau in Unnao district <a href="https://t.co/dkIZqBZ69u">pic.twitter.com/dkIZqBZ69u</a>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/942976553981435906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Similar incidents were reported previously, one of the latest being that of&nbsp;a collision that took place at the Noida expressway.

Cars rammed into each other leaving at least 6 injured on the Noida expressway, near Greater Noida&rsquo;s Dankaur area in November.

North India, Delhi-NCR, particularly battled a dip in air quality and poor visibility later this year.

Plummeting air quality continues to be a cause for concern here as cold weather aggravates.&nbsp;

Similar incidents were reported previously, one of the latest being that of?a collision that took place at the Noida expressway

As dense fog enveloped parts of North India earlier today as another collision took place on the Lucknow-Agra expressway. Uttar Pradesh: Dense fog engulfs Lucknow as cold wave intensifies pic.twitter.com/PP2Skyx5OP — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 19, 2017 × Reportedly, ten cars collided with each other due to low visibility caused by dense fog near Bangarmau near Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Multiples injuries have been reported with no account of the loss of life so far. Uttar Pradesh: Multiple injuries caused in collision between ten cars due to dense fog on Lucknow-Agra expressway near Bangarmau in Unnao district pic.twitter.com/dkIZqBZ69u — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 19, 2017 × Similar incidents were reported previously, one of the latest being that of a collision that took place at the Noida expressway. Cars rammed into each other leaving at least 6 injured on the Noida expressway, near Greater Noida’s Dankaur area in November. North India, Delhi-NCR, particularly battled a dip in air quality and poor visibility later this year. Plummeting air quality continues to be a cause for concern here as cold weather aggravates.

Watch: 10 cars collide at Lucknow-Agra expressway, several injured

The Delhi government may use anti-smog guns to try and bring down pollution levels.

To test the efficacy of the move, a trial was conducted Monday.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;gun&nbsp;sprays atomised water into the air, which then helps bring down pollution.&nbsp;

The gun is connected to a water tanker and can be transported around the city.

The trial on Monday evening was conducted at the Delhi Secretariat.

Officials said the&nbsp;gun can spray water up to a height of 50 metres.&nbsp;

Environment Secretary Anil Kumar Singh apprised Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal of the trial run during a meeting to review the detailed action plans of agencies and stakeholders to combat air pollution.

&quot;The plan should cover a time-frame not exceeding 16 months and also indicate the exact requirement of funds. The chief secretary has been asked to coordinate and finalise it,&quot; the LG&#39;s office said in a statement.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Environment Minister Imran Hussain also attended the trial run.&nbsp;

Another trial will be conducted Wednesday at Anand Vihar ISBT.&nbsp;

The gun, if the authorities decided to buy it, will cost around Rs 20 lakh a piece.&nbsp;

The?gun?sprays atomised water into the air, which then helps bring down pollution

The Delhi government may use anti-smog guns to try and bring down pollution levels. To test the efficacy of the move, a trial was conducted Monday. The gun sprays atomised water into the air, which then helps bring down pollution. The gun is connected to a water tanker and can be transported around the city. The trial on Monday evening was conducted at the Delhi Secretariat. Officials said the gun can spray water up to a height of 50 metres. Environment Secretary Anil Kumar Singh apprised Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal of the trial run during a meeting to review the detailed action plans of agencies and stakeholders to combat air pollution. "The plan should cover a time-frame not exceeding 16 months and also indicate the exact requirement of funds. The chief secretary has been asked to coordinate and finalise it," the LG's office said in a statement. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Environment Minister Imran Hussain also attended the trial run. Another trial will be conducted Wednesday at Anand Vihar ISBT. The gun, if the authorities decided to buy it, will cost around Rs 20 lakh a piece.

Delhi government mulls use of anti-smog guns to fight pollution

The National Green Tribunal today directed the Delhi government to consider shutting schools whenever air quality touches emergency levels to save the children from inhaling pollutants.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the AAP government to look into this aspect and incorporate it in its action plan to deal with the problem of air pollution.

&quot;Why don&#39;t you close schools whenever the particulate matter levels are found to be beyond 900 microgram per cubic meter. Ask the schools to run on Saturday and Sunday if required,&quot; the bench observed.

Advocate Tarunvir Singh Khehar, appearing for the Delhi government, said that this was difficult to implement because the children will have to suffer academically.

He said that air quality is bad in winter season for three months and if schools are closed during this period it would be difficult to complete their syllabus and examinations will have to be postponed.

The bench, however, expressed dissatisfaction and said, &quot;You don&#39;t do your duty and now you are giving reasons. You are spoiling the lives of children. Infants are taking antibiotics in Delhi. Why should they suffer?

&quot;In the last 12 years, the Delhi government has not taken a single step to bring down the ambient air quality within permissible limits. If the lungs of children are affected today, imagine the disease they will have after 20 years,&quot; it said while directing it to consider the suggestion.

The NGT also rapped the AAP government for not installing air purifier in government schools as per its earlier direction.

During the proceedings, the Delhi government submitted its action plan for the period when air quality touches emergency levels which it divided in three categories dealing with different levels of pollution.

The NGT said that it would pass a detailed order on ways to handle air pollution after perusing the action plans submitted by the Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh governments.

The tribunal had on December 6 slammed the AAP government and the neighbouring states over their action plan on ways to deal with severe air pollution in the city and directed them to file a detailed document to tackle the problem.

It had observed that air pollution was never at &quot;normal level&quot; in the national capital and directed the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to file the action plan afresh.&nbsp;

The Delhi government said it would be difficult to implement because the children would suffer academically

The National Green Tribunal today directed the Delhi government to consider shutting schools whenever air quality touches emergency levels to save the children from inhaling pollutants. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the AAP government to look into this aspect and incorporate it in its action plan to deal with the problem of air pollution. "Why don't you close schools whenever the particulate matter levels are found to be beyond 900 microgram per cubic meter. Ask the schools to run on Saturday and Sunday if required," the bench observed. Advocate Tarunvir Singh Khehar, appearing for the Delhi government, said that this was difficult to implement because the children will have to suffer academically. He said that air quality is bad in winter season for three months and if schools are closed during this period it would be difficult to complete their syllabus and examinations will have to be postponed. The bench, however, expressed dissatisfaction and said, "You don't do your duty and now you are giving reasons. You are spoiling the lives of children. Infants are taking antibiotics in Delhi. Why should they suffer? "In the last 12 years, the Delhi government has not taken a single step to bring down the ambient air quality within permissible limits. If the lungs of children are affected today, imagine the disease they will have after 20 years," it said while directing it to consider the suggestion. The NGT also rapped the AAP government for not installing air purifier in government schools as per its earlier direction. During the proceedings, the Delhi government submitted its action plan for the period when air quality touches emergency levels which it divided in three categories dealing with different levels of pollution. The NGT said that it would pass a detailed order on ways to handle air pollution after perusing the action plans submitted by the Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh governments. The tribunal had on December 6 slammed the AAP government and the neighbouring states over their action plan on ways to deal with severe air pollution in the city and directed them to file a detailed document to tackle the problem. It had observed that air pollution was never at "normal level" in the national capital and directed the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan to file the action plan afresh.

Close schools when air quality hits emergency mark: NGT to Delhi government

Delhi has once again witnessed a spike in air pollution levels.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality is reported to be &#39;very poor&#39; since today morning.

The SAFAR forecast said that PM 10 was recorded at 289 and PM 2.5 at 177. The minimum temperature recorded by the Met department was at 8.2 degrees Celsius.

On December 8, the air quality index was 194, which is &#39;moderate&#39;, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

This was the first time in two months that the air quality had improved to a large extent. It remained in the &#39;moderate&#39; category till December 10.

Due to decreased visibility, at least ten trains were cancelled and 17 were delayed. Two others have been rescheduled. The visibility was down to 1,200 metres.

On Sunday, around 19 trains were cancelled and 19 others were delayed, due to fog in several parts of northern India. Seven of them were rescheduled.

An official at Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, &quot;There is a possibility of light rains in the evening today. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 27 degrees Celsius.

The humidity level recorded at 8.30 a.m was 92 percent.

The minimum temperature recorded yesterday was at 7.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature settled at 27.2 degrees Celsius.&nbsp;

The SAFAR forecast said that PM 10 was recorded at 289 and PM 2.5 at 177. The minimum temperature recorded by the Met department was at 8.2 degrees Celsius

Delhi has once again witnessed a spike in air pollution levels. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality is reported to be 'very poor' since today morning. The SAFAR forecast said that PM 10 was recorded at 289 and PM 2.5 at 177. The minimum temperature recorded by the Met department was at 8.2 degrees Celsius. On December 8, the air quality index was 194, which is 'moderate', according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This was the first time in two months that the air quality had improved to a large extent. It remained in the 'moderate' category till December 10. Due to decreased visibility, at least ten trains were cancelled and 17 were delayed. Two others have been rescheduled. The visibility was down to 1,200 metres. On Sunday, around 19 trains were cancelled and 19 others were delayed, due to fog in several parts of northern India. Seven of them were rescheduled. An official at Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, "There is a possibility of light rains in the evening today. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 27 degrees Celsius. The humidity level recorded at 8.30 a.m was 92 percent. The minimum temperature recorded yesterday was at 7.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature settled at 27.2 degrees Celsius.

Air quality in Delhi drops from 'moderate' to 'very poor'

China&#39;s exports and imports unexpectedly accelerated last month in an encouraging sign for the world&#39;s second-biggest economy, though analysts expect growth to continue cooling amid a government crackdown on financial risks and polluting factories.&nbsp;

As global demand has surprised with its strength, consumers have lapped up Chinese goods at a rapid rate this year, giving the economy a boost and providing policymakers, room to tighten rules to curb high-risk lending.&nbsp;Exports in November rose 12.3 percent year-on-year, the fastest pace in eight months, led by strong sales of electronics and high-tech goods, while commodity purchases helped lift imports. The number beat analysts&#39; forecast of a 5.0 percent increase and compared with 6.9 percent growth in October.&nbsp;

Imports grew 17.7 percent year-on-year in November, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, also well above expectations of 11.3 percent growth and rising at the fastest pace since September.&nbsp;The numbers may help to ease concerns of slowing momentum in Asia&#39;s economic powerhouse, which had surprised markets with robust growth of nearly 6.9 percent in the first nine months of this year, thanks to a government-led infrastructure spending spree and unexpected strength in exports.

&quot;While we still expect China&#39;s domestic economy to cool in 2018 on gradually tighter fiscal policies, the November import data shows that there are upside risks to our China outlook&quot;, said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong.&nbsp;Tighter rules to rein in risks from a rapid build-up in debt and cut pollution have weighed on overall activity since the third quarter.

Besides ramped-up efforts to reduce winter pollution, authorities unveiled fresh regulatory measures last month for the financial sector, clamping down on high-risk lending and halting some dubious infrastructure projects that would swell local governments&#39; debt.

Imports Bounce To Tail Off?

Some of China&#39;s northern provinces have ordered factories to throttle back or halt output to reduce notoriously thick winter smog.&nbsp;While the war on pollution had been expected to reduce raw materials imports, Friday&#39;s trade numbers showed commodity imports rebounded last month.&nbsp;

China&#39;s natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar.&nbsp;China&#39;s iron ore imports rose in November even as steel mills are cutting output as part of a government drive against pollution as some analysts said traders were stockpiling inventory.&nbsp;

Iron ore imports &quot;were not necessarily just by steel mills but could have been also purchased by traders&quot;, said Helen Lau at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. He added, &quot;They&#39;re trying to accumulate stocks and will do so maybe through March in anticipation of Chinese mills resuming production when China lifts the winter restrictions&quot;.&nbsp;

Steel exports rose from the previous month to 5.35 million tonnes in November, data showed.&nbsp;The rebound in imports comes as China&#39;s yuan has fallen 2.8 percent against the dollar since hitting its 2017 peak on September 8.&nbsp;The latest data showed the country posted a trade surplus of $40.21 billion for the month versus expectations of $35 billion in November after October&#39;s $38.185 billion. Despite the overall strength of the November data, imports could come under pressure as China&#39;s economy cools, analysts say.&nbsp;

&quot;Chinese trade looks to have been surprisingly strong last month. We expect exports to continue to perform well in the coming months on the back of strong global demand&quot;, Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note.&nbsp;&quot;However, we are skeptical that the strength of imports can be sustained given that the delayed impact of policy tightening and a cooling property market are set to weigh on Chinese demand for commodities in coming quarters&quot;.

China's natural gas imports and iron imports rose in November, while steel mills are trying to cut output in a drive against pollution. The growth is still phenomenal for world's second-biggest economy

China's exports and imports unexpectedly accelerated last month in an encouraging sign for the world's second-biggest economy, though analysts expect growth to continue cooling amid a government crackdown on financial risks and polluting factories. As global demand has surprised with its strength, consumers have lapped up Chinese goods at a rapid rate this year, giving the economy a boost and providing policymakers, room to tighten rules to curb high-risk lending. Exports in November rose 12.3 percent year-on-year, the fastest pace in eight months, led by strong sales of electronics and high-tech goods, while commodity purchases helped lift imports. The number beat analysts' forecast of a 5.0 percent increase and compared with 6.9 percent growth in October. Imports grew 17.7 percent year-on-year in November, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, also well above expectations of 11.3 percent growth and rising at the fastest pace since September. The numbers may help to ease concerns of slowing momentum in Asia's economic powerhouse, which had surprised markets with robust growth of nearly 6.9 percent in the first nine months of this year, thanks to a government-led infrastructure spending spree and unexpected strength in exports. "While we still expect China's domestic economy to cool in 2018 on gradually tighter fiscal policies, the November import data shows that there are upside risks to our China outlook", said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. Tighter rules to rein in risks from a rapid build-up in debt and cut pollution have weighed on overall activity since the third quarter. Besides ramped-up efforts to reduce winter pollution, authorities unveiled fresh regulatory measures last month for the financial sector, clamping down on high-risk lending and halting some dubious infrastructure projects that would swell local governments' debt. Imports Bounce To Tail Off? Some of China's northern provinces have ordered factories to throttle back or halt output to reduce notoriously thick winter smog. While the war on pollution had been expected to reduce raw materials imports, Friday's trade numbers showed commodity imports rebounded last month. China's natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar. China's iron ore imports rose in November even as steel mills are cutting output as part of a government drive against pollution as some analysts said traders were stockpiling inventory. Iron ore imports "were not necessarily just by steel mills but could have been also purchased by traders", said Helen Lau at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. He added, "They're trying to accumulate stocks and will do so maybe through March in anticipation of Chinese mills resuming production when China lifts the winter restrictions". Steel exports rose from the previous month to 5.35 million tonnes in November, data showed. The rebound in imports comes as China's yuan has fallen 2.8 percent against the dollar since hitting its 2017 peak on September 8. The latest data showed the country posted a trade surplus of $40.21 billion for the month versus expectations of $35 billion in November after October's $38.185 billion. Despite the overall strength of the November data, imports could come under pressure as China's economy cools, analysts say. "Chinese trade looks to have been surprisingly strong last month. We expect exports to continue to perform well in the coming months on the back of strong global demand", Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note. "However, we are skeptical that the strength of imports can be sustained given that the delayed impact of policy tightening and a cooling property market are set to weigh on Chinese demand for commodities in coming quarters".

China exports growth hits eight-month high, imports defy pollution curbs

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) ordered the Delhi Development Authority(DDA) to construct biodiversity park near Yamuna with the compensatory amount of Rs 5 crores deposited by AoL(Art of Living) for &quot;causing damage to Yamuna floodplains&quot; in Delhi in 2016.&nbsp;

The green tribunal said further amount would be recovered from AoL if 5 crores fell short.

The NGT&nbsp;slammed the DDA&nbsp;for failing to protect the city&#39;s floodplains.

The NGT said the DDA did not impose penalty to protest Delhi&#39;s floodplains.

The tribunal had earlier asked the Delhi housing body to assess the damage caused to floodplains and complete the restoration cost in line with expert panel&#39;s recommendations.&nbsp;

In April, an NGT bench had asked the DDA to inspect the floodplains near Okhla in Delhi and submit a report.

The bench had said it had noticed &quot;massive, unauthorised and illegal constructions&quot; on the Yamuna floodplains.

In July, the NGT had asked the DDA to submit an action plan to restore the Yamuna floodplains following the festival by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar&#39;s Art of Living foundation.

The bench had said it had noticed "massive, unauthorised and illegal constructions" on the Yamuna floodplains.

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) ordered the Delhi Development Authority(DDA) to construct biodiversity park near Yamuna with the compensatory amount of Rs 5 crores deposited by AoL(Art of Living) for "causing damage to Yamuna floodplains" in Delhi in 2016. The green tribunal said further amount would be recovered from AoL if 5 crores fell short. The NGT slammed the DDA for failing to protect the city's floodplains. The NGT said the DDA did not impose penalty to protest Delhi's floodplains. The tribunal had earlier asked the Delhi housing body to assess the damage caused to floodplains and complete the restoration cost in line with expert panel's recommendations. In April, an NGT bench had asked the DDA to inspect the floodplains near Okhla in Delhi and submit a report. The bench had said it had noticed "massive, unauthorised and illegal constructions" on the Yamuna floodplains. In July, the NGT had asked the DDA to submit an action plan to restore the Yamuna floodplains following the festival by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living foundation.

Construct biodiversity park near Yamuna with Art of Living compensation: NGT orders DDA

As the issues of air quality in Delhi continue, a slight improvement in the air was recorded on Thursday which dropped to the &#39;very poor category from &#39;severe&#39; category before.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Delhi had been in the &#39;severe&#39; air quality category for a past couple of days, health ministers issued statements for people to remain indoors.&nbsp;

There were also high-level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) across residential areas heightening the toxicity of the haze, reports said.

As per the Air Quality Index (AQI) data, Delhi&#39;s Lodhi Road area has prominent pollutant PM 2.5 in &quot;very poor&quot; category.

The air quality did not come in the way of the ongoing test match between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla, however, the Lankans wore N95 anti-pollution masks while fielding.

Medics on Monday urged cricket&#39;s governing body to revise its rulebook after a Test match between India and Sri Lanka went ahead in the capital despite <a href="http://www.wionews.com/cricket/cricketers-vomiting-after-playing-in-polluted-delhi-sri-lanka-coach-25769">players vomiting and wheezing for air</a>.

At RK Puram, a densely populated residential area, NO2 was recorded at 135 ug/m3 while levels at ITO, which witnesses heavy volume of traffic, was 206.

During the week, NO2 had climbed to levels as high as 195 at Anand Vihar while the same was 155 and 127 at RK Puram and Dilshad Garden, respectively.

(inputs from agencies)

The AQI level in the capital was recorded in the "severe" zone for seven days between November 7 and November 13

As the issues of air quality in Delhi continue, a slight improvement in the air was recorded on Thursday which dropped to the 'very poor category from 'severe' category before. Delhi had been in the 'severe' air quality category for a past couple of days, health ministers issued statements for people to remain indoors. There were also high-level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) across residential areas heightening the toxicity of the haze, reports said. As per the Air Quality Index (AQI) data, Delhi's Lodhi Road area has prominent pollutant PM 2.5 in "very poor" category. The air quality did not come in the way of the ongoing test match between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla, however, the Lankans wore N95 anti-pollution masks while fielding. Medics on Monday urged cricket's governing body to revise its rulebook after a Test match between India and Sri Lanka went ahead in the capital despite players vomiting and wheezing for air. At RK Puram, a densely populated residential area, NO2 was recorded at 135 ug/m3 while levels at ITO, which witnesses heavy volume of traffic, was 206. During the week, NO2 had climbed to levels as high as 195 at Anand Vihar while the same was 155 and 127 at RK Puram and Dilshad Garden, respectively. (inputs from agencies)

Delhi's air quality improves slightly, but still 'very poor'

The Delhi government today <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/oxygen-chamber-in-gurgaon-a-respite-from-pollution-25018">told the National Green Tribunal(NGT)</a> that there would be no exemption&nbsp;for vehicles in the odd-even scheme when it implemented next time.

The Kejriwal government submitted its <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-pollution-children-are-inhaling-cigarette-the-moment-they-are-born-24287">action plan to combat pollution</a> in the national capital. In its plan, the government said it would stop construction activity in the capital&nbsp;as soon as pollution level touch the &#39;severe&#39; category.

The Delhi government said it would stop the entry of trucks if the pollution levels in the city drop below manageable levels, adding that it would also shut industries causing&nbsp;pollution.

The government informed the tribunal that burning of waste was banned.

The NGT had earlier slammed the Delhi government for not being prepared to combat air pollution in the city saying it lacked an &quot;action plan&quot;.

The Delhi government had earlier dropped the idea of going ahead with the odd-even scheme for vehicles after the NGT had said it would not allow any &quot;exemptions&quot; which&nbsp;would have meant women in the city would have to adhere to the new rule, the government felt it would endanger the safety of women.

The Delhi government said it would stop the entry of trucks if the pollution levels in the city drop below manageable levels

The Delhi government today told the National Green Tribunal(NGT) that there would be no exemption for vehicles in the odd-even scheme when it implemented next time. The Kejriwal government submitted its action plan to combat pollution in the national capital. In its plan, the government said it would stop construction activity in the capital as soon as pollution level touch the 'severe' category. The Delhi government said it would stop the entry of trucks if the pollution levels in the city drop below manageable levels, adding that it would also shut industries causing pollution. The government informed the tribunal that burning of waste was banned. The NGT had earlier slammed the Delhi government for not being prepared to combat air pollution in the city saying it lacked an "action plan". The Delhi government had earlier dropped the idea of going ahead with the odd-even scheme for vehicles after the NGT had said it would not allow any "exemptions" which would have meant women in the city would have to adhere to the new rule, the government felt it would endanger the safety of women.

'No exemption' in odd-even scheme: Delhi government's pollution action plan to NGT

On the evening of 3 December 1971, at about&nbsp;5:40 pm, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched surprise per-emptive strikes on eleven airfields in north-western India, including Agra, which was 300 miles (480 km) from the border. At the time of this attack, the Taj Mahal was camouflaged with a forest of twigs and leaves and draped with burlap because its marble glowed like a white beacon in the moonlight.

The marble&#39;s shine is less provocative these days, not because the structure decided to protest against the disparaging debate of why it could not be part of the state&#39;s tourism booklet but because it suffocates from the poor quality of&nbsp;debates on issues of air pollution. The debate is seasonal and the yearly trend is almost a decade old.

Even In 1942, during the World War II, Taj Mahal was covered in bamboo scaffolding as the British thought that the Taj Mahal was vulnerable to bombing by the German Luftwaffe bombers (and also the Japanese).

Taj Mahal, as a monument has fought against more than security threats and air pollution, its burqa is more than the coverage of twigs and bamboo. In the smog of political tussle and changing ideologies, it has on many occasion tugged to its burqa.

It almost tugged to its burqa when fictional novels questioned its existence and, based on sketchy facts, presented an alternate image of a temple which was converted to make place for the Taj. People agreed, not all although.

The Archaeological department installed a lab to check whether the city pollution and other pollutants were degrading the marble and its shine. To protect it, a mudpack solution was suggested. Wherein, the marble is polished by a certain mud. Rubbing mud and making it shiny. The deal is still on.

There is no research released on the gradual effect of time on the health of the Taj Mahal.

One of the wonders of the world, Taj Mahal often gazes at its nearest companion, the Mosque and tries to identify if anyone else is clad in similar shadow. When people walk by and look at the monument, whether the sense of belonging is national or anti-national. Whether such thoughts will make it leftist or something else.&nbsp;

The worlds largest democracy is trying to strengthen its defences and forces chose to look the other way as there was bounty announced on the head of the leading artist of a film named Padmavati.&nbsp;

Talking of safety and security, Pakistan government was ordered by a judicial review board to release Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of 26/11. The US had announced a $10 million bounty for Saaed for his alleged role in the Mumbai terror attack.&nbsp;

The thunder and storm began as the air cleared a bit, the prediction says, the suffocation will subside.

Taj Mahal looked the other way towards Ayodhya now, its 06 Dec.

The burqa stays...

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

The Taj Mahal is falling victim to chronic pollution and politicisation.

On the evening of 3 December 1971, at about 5:40 pm, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched surprise per-emptive strikes on eleven airfields in north-western India, including Agra, which was 300 miles (480 km) from the border. At the time of this attack, the Taj Mahal was camouflaged with a forest of twigs and leaves and draped with burlap because its marble glowed like a white beacon in the moonlight. The marble's shine is less provocative these days, not because the structure decided to protest against the disparaging debate of why it could not be part of the state's tourism booklet but because it suffocates from the poor quality of debates on issues of air pollution. The debate is seasonal and the yearly trend is almost a decade old. Even In 1942, during the World War II, Taj Mahal was covered in bamboo scaffolding as the British thought that the Taj Mahal was vulnerable to bombing by the German Luftwaffe bombers (and also the Japanese). Taj Mahal, as a monument has fought against more than security threats and air pollution, its burqa is more than the coverage of twigs and bamboo. In the smog of political tussle and changing ideologies, it has on many occasion tugged to its burqa. It almost tugged to its burqa when fictional novels questioned its existence and, based on sketchy facts, presented an alternate image of a temple which was converted to make place for the Taj. People agreed, not all although. The Archaeological department installed a lab to check whether the city pollution and other pollutants were degrading the marble and its shine. To protect it, a mudpack solution was suggested. Wherein, the marble is polished by a certain mud. Rubbing mud and making it shiny. The deal is still on. There is no research released on the gradual effect of time on the health of the Taj Mahal. One of the wonders of the world, Taj Mahal often gazes at its nearest companion, the Mosque and tries to identify if anyone else is clad in similar shadow. When people walk by and look at the monument, whether the sense of belonging is national or anti-national. Whether such thoughts will make it leftist or something else. The worlds largest democracy is trying to strengthen its defences and forces chose to look the other way as there was bounty announced on the head of the leading artist of a film named Padmavati. Talking of safety and security, Pakistan government was ordered by a judicial review board to release Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of 26/11. The US had announced a $10 million bounty for Saaed for his alleged role in the Mumbai terror attack. The thunder and storm began as the air cleared a bit, the prediction says, the suffocation will subside. Taj Mahal looked the other way towards Ayodhya now, its 06 Dec. The burqa stays... (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Pollution and politics through Taj Mahal's gaze

His cricketers were vomitting after playing in polluted Delhi, Sri Lanka&#39;s cricket coach Nic Pothas said on Sunday.&nbsp;

India and Sri Lanka are playing the third and deciding Test of the three-match series at the Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi.&nbsp;

India is currently leading the series 1-0.&nbsp;

&quot;We had players coming off the field and vomiting,&quot; AFP reported Pothas as saying after the match. &quot;There were oxygen cylinders in the change room. It&#39;s not normal for players to suffer in that way while playing the game.&quot;

Play was stopped a total of three times -- because of pollution -- on day two of the third Test.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/cricket/3rd-test-play-halted-twice-due-to-pollution-lanka-players-wear-masks-while-fielding-25729" target="_blank">3rd Test: Pollution halts play three times, Lanka players wear masks while fielding</a>

The first stoppage lasted about 15 minutes.&nbsp;

The second lasted about two minutes.&nbsp;

And after the third stoppage, India captain Virat Kohli declared India&#39;s first innings at 536 for seven to get the Sri Lankans off the field.&nbsp;

A number of Sri Lankan players had been wearing masks on the field -- a sight never really seen before.&nbsp;

This is not the first time a cricket match has been stopped in Delhi.&nbsp;

Last November, two Ranji trophy matches were stopped -- one at the Feroze Shah Kotla and the other at Karnail Singh Stadium -- again because of pollution.&nbsp;

&quot;I think it&#39;s the first time that everybody has come across that situation,&quot; AFP reported Pothas as saying.&nbsp;

&quot;There aren&#39;t too many rules regarding pollution. What we are going to do tomorrow is in the hands of the match referee. They will have meetings tonight to put in some sort of a precedent if it happens like this tomorrow,&quot; he added

'There were oxygen cylinders in the change room. It's not normal for players to suffer in that way while playing the game,' NIc Pothas said

His cricketers were vomitting after playing in polluted Delhi, Sri Lanka's cricket coach Nic Pothas said on Sunday. India and Sri Lanka are playing the third and deciding Test of the three-match series at the Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi. India is currently leading the series 1-0. "We had players coming off the field and vomiting," AFP reported Pothas as saying after the match. "There were oxygen cylinders in the change room. It's not normal for players to suffer in that way while playing the game." Play was stopped a total of three times -- because of pollution -- on day two of the third Test. 3rd Test: Pollution halts play three times, Lanka players wear masks while fielding The first stoppage lasted about 15 minutes. The second lasted about two minutes. And after the third stoppage, India captain Virat Kohli declared India's first innings at 536 for seven to get the Sri Lankans off the field. A number of Sri Lankan players had been wearing masks on the field -- a sight never really seen before. This is not the first time a cricket match has been stopped in Delhi. Last November, two Ranji trophy matches were stopped -- one at the Feroze Shah Kotla and the other at Karnail Singh Stadium -- again because of pollution. "I think it's the first time that everybody has come across that situation," AFP reported Pothas as saying. "There aren't too many rules regarding pollution. What we are going to do tomorrow is in the hands of the match referee. They will have meetings tonight to put in some sort of a precedent if it happens like this tomorrow," he added

Cricketers vomiting after playing in polluted Delhi: Sri Lanka coach

In a first in international cricket, play in the third Test between India and Sri Lanka was halted three times because of pollution.&nbsp;

The first stoppage lasted 15 minutes.&nbsp;

The second stoppage lasted two minutes.&nbsp;

After the third stoppage, captain Virat Kohli declared India&#39;s first innings at 536 for 7 to get the Lankans off the field.&nbsp;

A number of Sri Lanka players were also seen wearing masks while fielding.&nbsp;

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Delhi Pollution Live update. <a href="https://t.co/eKVktElVGt">pic.twitter.com/eKVktElVGt</a>
&mdash; Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trendulkar/status/937214992910356480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Is this a first? Sri Lankan cricketers were wearing masks on the field during the 3rd <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvSL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvSL</a> Test match in Delhi, India. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smog?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Smog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pollution?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pollution</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ebhs1ZeE6t">pic.twitter.com/Ebhs1ZeE6t</a>
&mdash; Island Cricket (@IslandCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/IslandCricket/status/937211426615320576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Play was halted the first time after Sri Lankan paceman Lahiru Gamage began to look ill while bowling.

And at one point the Sri Lankans were even short of players after he and fellow fast bowler Suranga Lakmal returned to the pavilion.

India&#39;s Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay top scored with 243 and 155, while Sri Lanka&#39;s Lakshan Sandakan got four wickets for 167 runs.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/kohli-becomes-first-captain-to-score-six-double-ton-25723" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Kohli hits double ton, becomes </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/kohli-becomes-first-captain-to-score-six-double-ton-25723" target="_blank">first</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/kohli-becomes-first-captain-to-score-six-double-ton-25723" target="_blank"> captain to score 6 Test double centuries</a>

This is not the first time a cricket match has been stopped in Delhi.&nbsp;

Last November, two Ranji trophy matches were stopped -- one at the Feroze Shah Kotla and the other at Karnail Singh Stadium -- again because of pollution.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Captain Virat Kohli declared India's first innings at 536 for 7 after the third stoppage to get the Lankans off the field

In a first in international cricket, play in the third Test between India and Sri Lanka was halted three times because of pollution. The first stoppage lasted 15 minutes. The second stoppage lasted two minutes. After the third stoppage, captain Virat Kohli declared India's first innings at 536 for 7 to get the Lankans off the field. A number of Sri Lanka players were also seen wearing masks while fielding. Delhi Pollution Live update. pic.twitter.com/eKVktElVGt — Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) December 3, 2017 × Is this a first? Sri Lankan cricketers were wearing masks on the field during the 3rd #INDvSL Test match in Delhi, India. #Smog #Pollution pic.twitter.com/Ebhs1ZeE6t — Island Cricket (@IslandCricket) December 3, 2017 × Play was halted the first time after Sri Lankan paceman Lahiru Gamage began to look ill while bowling. And at one point the Sri Lankans were even short of players after he and fellow fast bowler Suranga Lakmal returned to the pavilion. India's Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay top scored with 243 and 155, while Sri Lanka's Lakshan Sandakan got four wickets for 167 runs. Also read: Kohli hits double ton, becomes first captain to score 6 Test double centuries This is not the first time a cricket match has been stopped in Delhi. Last November, two Ranji trophy matches were stopped -- one at the Feroze Shah Kotla and the other at Karnail Singh Stadium -- again because of pollution.

3rd Test: Pollution halts play three times, Lanka players wear masks while fielding

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015.

Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat &quot;rampant pollution&quot; as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems.

Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly.

Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace.

Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries.

Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment.

The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members.

Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year&#39;s gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists.

The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint.

&quot;Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish,&quot; according to a UNEP statement.

&quot;A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year,&quot; it added.

Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict.

Pollution, according to the UNEP, is &quot;the biggest human killer bar none.&quot;

&quot;We need to beat pollution before it beats us,&quot; said UNEP head Erik Solheim.

&quot;That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup.&quot;

The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled &quot;Towards a Pollution-Free Planet&quot;.

It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind&#39;s soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke.

&quot;Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal,&quot; said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015. Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat "rampant pollution" as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems. Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly. Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace. Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries. Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China. The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment. The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members. Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year's gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists. The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint. "Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish," according to a UNEP statement. "A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year," it added. Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict. Pollution, according to the UNEP, is "the biggest human killer bar none." "We need to beat pollution before it beats us," said UNEP head Erik Solheim. "That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup." The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled "Towards a Pollution-Free Planet". It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind's soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke. "Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal," said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

UN makes global bid to end 'rampant' pollution

Amidst the continuing high levels smog, at least 33 trains were delayed, five were rescheduled and three were cancelled due to low visibility and operational reasons.&nbsp;

The air quality in Delhi was &#39;very poor&#39; once again with an AQI of 335 on Friday.

However, the air quality on Thursday was the lowest when AQI hit 288 falling in the &#39;poor&#39; category.&nbsp;

Around four train accidents have taken&nbsp;place in less than 12 hours, taking lives of about seven people and injuring 11. The deaths have raised&nbsp;some concerns over railway operations and safety.&nbsp;

The train derailment in Chitrakoot district in Utter Pradesh killed three passengers while Pradeep-Calcutta goods train derailed in Odisha&nbsp;recently.&nbsp;

Four passengers were killed and two were injured when a local passenger train hit a Bolero vehicle near Amethi in UP.&nbsp;

More recently, as many as three died and eight injured after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/train-derails-near-in-uttar-pradesh-two-dead-eight-injured-24975">13-coach Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express derailed</a> at Banda in Uttar Pradesh early Friday.&nbsp;

The national capital has been experiencing dense smog for about a month which has given a rise to these accidents.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal stated that he has requested the officials to stop taking any requests for letting trains pass during maintenance work, reports said.&nbsp;

The air quality in Delhi was 'very poor' once again with an AQI of 335 on Friday

Amidst the continuing high levels smog, at least 33 trains were delayed, five were rescheduled and three were cancelled due to low visibility and operational reasons. The air quality in Delhi was 'very poor' once again with an AQI of 335 on Friday. However, the air quality on Thursday was the lowest when AQI hit 288 falling in the 'poor' category. Around four train accidents have taken place in less than 12 hours, taking lives of about seven people and injuring 11. The deaths have raised some concerns over railway operations and safety. The train derailment in Chitrakoot district in Utter Pradesh killed three passengers while Pradeep-Calcutta goods train derailed in Odisha recently. Four passengers were killed and two were injured when a local passenger train hit a Bolero vehicle near Amethi in UP. More recently, as many as three died and eight injured after 13-coach Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express derailed at Banda in Uttar Pradesh early Friday. The national capital has been experiencing dense smog for about a month which has given a rise to these accidents. Railway minister Piyush Goyal stated that he has requested the officials to stop taking any requests for letting trains pass during maintenance work, reports said.

33 trains delayed, 3 cancelled due to low visibility in Delhi

Want to breathe long and deep? Longing for that whiff of fresh air, so elusive in Delhi-NCR?

Just head to the Oxygen Chamber that offers you oodles of clean air, and it&#39;s free.

That the Oxygen Chamber is next to the Huda City Metro station, crowded and chaotic with lots of people inside and lots of traffic outside, makes the contrast starker.

Built by Nurturing Green, the Oxygen Chamber is a welcome break in a city where masks and air purifiers are increasingly the norm as air pollution levels fluctuate between severe, very poor and poor.

Equipped with an air purifier and NASA approved air purifying plants such as areca palm, peace lily and sansevieria trifasciata (also known as mother-in-law&#39;s tongue or snake plant), the place, spread over 13,000 sq ft, is a treat for the eyes, and, more important, for the lungs.

&quot;The NASA approved air purifying plants available in the Oxygen Chamber absorb harmful gases like xylene, benzene, formaldehyde and CO2 to bring freshness indoors,&quot; Nurture Green Founder Annu Grover told PTI. &quot;We are practically breathing poison,&quot; she said.

So, enter the chamber and levels of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 and 10 - microscopic particles that can enter and embed deep into the lungs and subsequently the bloodstream, get into a free-fall, making a safe and pollution-free landing at 8-10 from the hazardous 300-400.

There&#39;s&nbsp;a catch, however. The chamber also has an electronic air purifier.

&#39;&#39;These air purifying plants are not there to replace the air purifiers. No. We are saying that both complement each other. It works like this. The air purifying plants absorb the harmful gases, while the electronic air purifier takes care of your PM level,&#39;&#39; said Nikhil Grover, senior marketing manager of the company.

Using medical analogy, he said an electronic air purifier works like &#39;allopathy&#39; and the air purifying plants are somewhat close to &#39;homoeopathy&#39;.

According to him, it would cost Rs 15,000-20,000 to build an oxygen chamber in a home.

The place also sells all kinds of green plants, indoor and outdoor, as well as theme-based garden and balcony furniture, among a host of other things.

Built by Nurturing Green, the Oxygen Chamber next to the Huda City Metro station is equipped with an air purifier and NASA approved air purifying plants such as areca palm, peace lily and sansevieria trifasciata

Want to breathe long and deep? Longing for that whiff of fresh air, so elusive in Delhi-NCR? Just head to the Oxygen Chamber that offers you oodles of clean air, and it's free. That the Oxygen Chamber is next to the Huda City Metro station, crowded and chaotic with lots of people inside and lots of traffic outside, makes the contrast starker. Built by Nurturing Green, the Oxygen Chamber is a welcome break in a city where masks and air purifiers are increasingly the norm as air pollution levels fluctuate between severe, very poor and poor. Equipped with an air purifier and NASA approved air purifying plants such as areca palm, peace lily and sansevieria trifasciata (also known as mother-in-law's tongue or snake plant), the place, spread over 13,000 sq ft, is a treat for the eyes, and, more important, for the lungs. "The NASA approved air purifying plants available in the Oxygen Chamber absorb harmful gases like xylene, benzene, formaldehyde and CO2 to bring freshness indoors," Nurture Green Founder Annu Grover told PTI. "We are practically breathing poison," she said. So, enter the chamber and levels of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 and 10 - microscopic particles that can enter and embed deep into the lungs and subsequently the bloodstream, get into a free-fall, making a safe and pollution-free landing at 8-10 from the hazardous 300-400. There's a catch, however. The chamber also has an electronic air purifier. ''These air purifying plants are not there to replace the air purifiers. No. We are saying that both complement each other. It works like this. The air purifying plants absorb the harmful gases, while the electronic air purifier takes care of your PM level,'' said Nikhil Grover, senior marketing manager of the company. Using medical analogy, he said an electronic air purifier works like 'allopathy' and the air purifying plants are somewhat close to 'homoeopathy'. According to him, it would cost Rs 15,000-20,000 to build an oxygen chamber in a home. The place also sells all kinds of green plants, indoor and outdoor, as well as theme-based garden and balcony furniture, among a host of other things.

Oxygen Chamber in Gurugram; much-needed respite from pollution

&quot;If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I&#39;ll bet they&#39;d live a lot differently,&quot; said Calvin to his best friend Hobbes in one those many imaginary conversations he had with his stuffed toy. But isn&#39;t that true?

We have lived in the national capital -&nbsp;Delhi - for years now? And how many a times have we seen the stars on a regular basis? How many a times did we strike a conversation with them? How many times did we sit in the favourite part of our terrace or on a random bench in a park or just take a walk in any random road and look at those beautiful shinning creatures?

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<h5>In a city like Mumbai, the people probably have the sea where they can go sit, relax, process their thoughts and walk away relaxed.</h5>
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The majority of us have been living in the&nbsp;9 am to 5 pm&nbsp;kind of jobs. Us journalists we never know when our day starts and when it ends. All the anger, the frustration, the pressure comes out in a way that we do not like. In a city like Mumbai, the people probably have the sea where they can go sit, relax, process their thoughts and walk away relaxed.

But we in Delhi have nothing to call our own. The parks, the monuments, the ivory houses, the VVIP traffics, each household boasting of three to four cars each, does not help us get peace. Please do not get me wrong they pretty much make Delhi what it is, as a city. But think again can we call them our own?

Add to it, the air pollution woes in the city have reached hazardous levels, to say the least. Does it not give you chills to not see stars in the sky in the night? Or enjoy the sun coming out early in the morning? Do you not miss the skyline when the sun leaves us with its beautiful shades? Guessing, we have all but forgotten what it feels like to breathe in fresh air in the city.

Now, how is this for a change!

When was the last time you packed your rug-sack and just left? When was the last time you took a bus ride to the hills, alone? When was the last time you walked out on the streets and got fresh air to breath? When was the last time you stood on your balcony and saw the stars?

For me, it was as latest as last week! After earning a week&#39;s off from my hectic work culture, I packed my rucksack and set out all by myself. The destination, I had no clue about. I told myself, I will head to the Kashmere Gate ISBT and sit on the first bus that leaves the terminal. And as fate would have it. The first bus that left the terminal was to Jammu. I hopped on the bus and left for Jammu.

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<h5>As the bus rolled away from the city limits, passing the Sonipat, the Panipat and&nbsp;Ambala, the skies got clearer, the air cleaner and the temperature started to drop.</h5>
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This was my first-ever journey to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. I quickly called up my friend in Srinagar, informing her that I am finally coming to her state. Shabnam Khan - my batchmate from college -&nbsp;has been behind my life to visit her for five years. So the excitement in her voice was evident.

As the bus rolled away from the city limits, passing Sonipat, Panipat and&nbsp;Ambala, the skies got clearer, the air cleaner and the temperature started to drop. The bus did stop at some small dhabba along the way but I happily crossed the road for a foot-long sub. Not cause I am not a fan of dhabba food but cause I wanted to keep my belly healthy for the trip. And surprisingly the subway station served some really hot coffee too that held.

As the bus began its journey after a pit-stop we were back on the road again. It was now time to close our window panes and the winds grew colder. Sadly for me, I had to glance out the window through the pane! But music in my ears winds around me food in my belly and coffee in my hands, I would say I was up for the remainder of the sojourn.

The bus came to halt at a place called Lakhanpur, a village that connects the rest of India with Jammu via road. As I got off the bus I could see smoke come out of my mouth due to the cold conditions. I looked at the coffee bottle in a makeshift shop along the highway and said, &quot;Why not!&quot; With music in my ears, winds around me and coffee in my hands, we began our journey to Jammu.

We reached Jammu close to&nbsp;2:30&nbsp;in the night. The moment I got off the bus, the cold hit me - it was close to 10-degree Celsius - and there were private cab drivers looking for passengers to ferry from Jammu to Srinagar. It was quite surprising to see the night-long bus and cab services from Jammu to Srinagar. Fortunately for me, I found one and thus began my journey to Srinagar by&nbsp;3 am.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)

When pollution makes it impossible to breathe, pack your rug-sack and just leave for the hills.

"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently," said Calvin to his best friend Hobbes in one those many imaginary conversations he had with his stuffed toy. But isn't that true? We have lived in the national capital - Delhi - for years now? And how many a times have we seen the stars on a regular basis? How many a times did we strike a conversation with them? How many times did we sit in the favourite part of our terrace or on a random bench in a park or just take a walk in any random road and look at those beautiful shinning creatures? In a city like Mumbai, the people probably have the sea where they can go sit, relax, process their thoughts and walk away relaxed. × The majority of us have been living in the 9 am to 5 pm kind of jobs. Us journalists we never know when our day starts and when it ends. All the anger, the frustration, the pressure comes out in a way that we do not like. In a city like Mumbai, the people probably have the sea where they can go sit, relax, process their thoughts and walk away relaxed. But we in Delhi have nothing to call our own. The parks, the monuments, the ivory houses, the VVIP traffics, each household boasting of three to four cars each, does not help us get peace. Please do not get me wrong they pretty much make Delhi what it is, as a city. But think again can we call them our own? Add to it, the air pollution woes in the city have reached hazardous levels, to say the least. Does it not give you chills to not see stars in the sky in the night? Or enjoy the sun coming out early in the morning? Do you not miss the skyline when the sun leaves us with its beautiful shades? Guessing, we have all but forgotten what it feels like to breathe in fresh air in the city. Now, how is this for a change! When was the last time you packed your rug-sack and just left? When was the last time you took a bus ride to the hills, alone? When was the last time you walked out on the streets and got fresh air to breath? When was the last time you stood on your balcony and saw the stars? For me, it was as latest as last week! After earning a week's off from my hectic work culture, I packed my rucksack and set out all by myself. The destination, I had no clue about. I told myself, I will head to the Kashmere Gate ISBT and sit on the first bus that leaves the terminal. And as fate would have it. The first bus that left the terminal was to Jammu. I hopped on the bus and left for Jammu. As the bus rolled away from the city limits, passing the Sonipat, the Panipat and Ambala, the skies got clearer, the air cleaner and the temperature started to drop. × This was my first-ever journey to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. I quickly called up my friend in Srinagar, informing her that I am finally coming to her state. Shabnam Khan - my batchmate from college - has been behind my life to visit her for five years. So the excitement in her voice was evident. As the bus rolled away from the city limits, passing Sonipat, Panipat and Ambala, the skies got clearer, the air cleaner and the temperature started to drop. The bus did stop at some small dhabba along the way but I happily crossed the road for a foot-long sub. Not cause I am not a fan of dhabba food but cause I wanted to keep my belly healthy for the trip. And surprisingly the subway station served some really hot coffee too that held. As the bus began its journey after a pit-stop we were back on the road again. It was now time to close our window panes and the winds grew colder. Sadly for me, I had to glance out the window through the pane! But music in my ears winds around me food in my belly and coffee in my hands, I would say I was up for the remainder of the sojourn. The bus came to halt at a place called Lakhanpur, a village that connects the rest of India with Jammu via road. As I got off the bus I could see smoke come out of my mouth due to the cold conditions. I looked at the coffee bottle in a makeshift shop along the highway and said, "Why not!" With music in my ears, winds around me and coffee in my hands, we began our journey to Jammu. We reached Jammu close to 2:30 in the night. The moment I got off the bus, the cold hit me - it was close to 10-degree Celsius - and there were private cab drivers looking for passengers to ferry from Jammu to Srinagar. It was quite surprising to see the night-long bus and cab services from Jammu to Srinagar. Fortunately for me, I found one and thus began my journey to Srinagar by 3 am. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)

Opinion: Delhi chokes, let's turn to hills

The Supreme Court is to hear a&nbsp;plea seeking &#39;complete ban&#39; on firecrackers in Delhi and NCR on&nbsp;Friday.

A bench headed by&nbsp;Justice A K Sikri&nbsp;on October 6&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-bans-sale-of-firecrackers-in-delhi-ncr-this-diwali-21145">banned the sale of firecrackers </a>in the national capital till November 1, 2017.

In a plea filed in the apex court on October 27,&nbsp;Arjun Gopal sought the ban on firecrackers&nbsp;beyond November 1.

The court in its earlier order stated that&nbsp;lifting the ban on the sale of firecrackers might require a &quot;review&quot; after Diwali depending on the ambient air quality after the festival - which is set for today.

Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for Gopal, had earlier contended before the court that ban on the use of firecrackers&nbsp;should be restored as the NCR had witnessed a huge rise in air pollution during and after Diwali last year.

The impact of ban on the pollution level in the capital remains a bone of contention among experts

The Supreme Court is to hear a plea seeking 'complete ban' on firecrackers in Delhi and NCR on Friday. A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri on October 6 banned the sale of firecrackers in the national capital till November 1, 2017. In a plea filed in the apex court on October 27, Arjun Gopal sought the ban on firecrackers beyond November 1. The court in its earlier order stated that lifting the ban on the sale of firecrackers might require a "review" after Diwali depending on the ambient air quality after the festival - which is set for today. Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for Gopal, had earlier contended before the court that ban on the use of firecrackers should be restored as the NCR had witnessed a huge rise in air pollution during and after Diwali last year.

Supreme Court to hear plea seeking 'complete ban'  on firecrackers today

India&#39;s economic slowdown has bottomed out and now it should start moving upwards after recovering from the &quot;temporary blip&quot; seen during the recent structural changes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on&nbsp;Thursday.

Addressing investors at the Morgan Stanley annual conference here on &#39;India: Structural Reforms and Growth Path Ahead&#39;, Jaitley talked about the &quot;massive&quot; economic reforms undertaken by India.

He acknowledged that there was a &quot;temporary blip&quot; as a result of structural changes that were initiated by the government.

&quot;I think the bottoming out of the economy is complete and now it should start moving upwards. The global economy is also moving up,&quot; said Jaitly.

As part of the summit, Jaitley met the senior management of Morgan Stanley and addressed a gathering of senior fund managers and key financial institutional investors.

&quot;How do I see the economy moving? our basic parameters are quite stable. And we grew between 7-8 per cent over the last three years,? he said.

&quot;Therefore, we need over the next, at least, a decade, if not more, significantly higher growth rates in order to go ahead with expansion plan of the Indian economy,? Jaitley said.

The finance minister also assured investors of a strong banking sector in India.

&quot;The combination of the IT scheme and now the large-scale recapitalisation we have announced should be put into motion expeditiously,&quot; he said.

The combination of these two steps are likely to improve the capacity of the banks, and even lend their surplus, particularly to the small and medium-scale industries which need those funds in abundance because they are the ones that are the big job creators and keep the Indian economy going, he elaborated.

He also clarified the often over-stated labour issues, saying these were no longer there as the negative environment of disruption of industrial activity is long over.

He said the labour laws are being fortified by taking the unions into consultation, and there has not been any significant labour resistance in recent times, whether it is disinvestment or privatisation, he said.

&quot;We haven?t encountered trade union resistance as that is concerned,&quot; he pointed out, adding that there are already various kinds of reforms.

Responding to questions from investors, he said among the privatisation of public sector units (PSUs), Air India is in a very advanced stage while some of the PSUs will be kept as they are.

The state enterprises in the oil and some in the power sectors will be kept as PSUs.

&quot;But there are many which will be privatised,? he added, pointing to a list prepared by the NITI Aayog.

&quot;In any case, we are going with the divestment programme very actively,? said the minister.

He also gave the investors an update on the ongoing business reforms and called for investments for changing the landscape of India at an accelerated pace.

Jaitley, who is on a two-day visit to Singapore, held meetings with Singapore ministers and investors.&nbsp;

Some northern Chinese cities failed to improve air quality by much last month, hitting the smog-prone region's overall results in a drive against pollution, the government said as it warned provincial officials to comply with stringent steps to clear the skies

India's economic slowdown has bottomed out and now it should start moving upwards after recovering from the "temporary blip" seen during the recent structural changes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday. Addressing investors at the Morgan Stanley annual conference here on 'India: Structural Reforms and Growth Path Ahead', Jaitley talked about the "massive" economic reforms undertaken by India. He acknowledged that there was a "temporary blip" as a result of structural changes that were initiated by the government. "I think the bottoming out of the economy is complete and now it should start moving upwards. The global economy is also moving up," said Jaitly. As part of the summit, Jaitley met the senior management of Morgan Stanley and addressed a gathering of senior fund managers and key financial institutional investors. "How do I see the economy moving? our basic parameters are quite stable. And we grew between 7-8 per cent over the last three years,? he said. "Therefore, we need over the next, at least, a decade, if not more, significantly higher growth rates in order to go ahead with expansion plan of the Indian economy,? Jaitley said. The finance minister also assured investors of a strong banking sector in India. "The combination of the IT scheme and now the large-scale recapitalisation we have announced should be put into motion expeditiously," he said. The combination of these two steps are likely to improve the capacity of the banks, and even lend their surplus, particularly to the small and medium-scale industries which need those funds in abundance because they are the ones that are the big job creators and keep the Indian economy going, he elaborated. He also clarified the often over-stated labour issues, saying these were no longer there as the negative environment of disruption of industrial activity is long over. He said the labour laws are being fortified by taking the unions into consultation, and there has not been any significant labour resistance in recent times, whether it is disinvestment or privatisation, he said. "We haven?t encountered trade union resistance as that is concerned," he pointed out, adding that there are already various kinds of reforms. Responding to questions from investors, he said among the privatisation of public sector units (PSUs), Air India is in a very advanced stage while some of the PSUs will be kept as they are. The state enterprises in the oil and some in the power sectors will be kept as PSUs. "But there are many which will be privatised,? he added, pointing to a list prepared by the NITI Aayog. "In any case, we are going with the divestment programme very actively,? said the minister. He also gave the investors an update on the ongoing business reforms and called for investments for changing the landscape of India at an accelerated pace. Jaitley, who is on a two-day visit to Singapore, held meetings with Singapore ministers and investors.

China warns northern cities to get serious in war on smog

The Euro-VI grade petrol and diesel will be supplied to the national capital by three oil PSUs from their refineries at Mathura, Bina and Bhatinda from April to help it fight the alarming levels of air pollution.

&quot;We will be able to meet the requirement of Delhi from April 1,&quot; IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said here today.

&quot;We will have to tweak the fuel production slate to produce BS-VI (equivalent to fuel meeting Euro-VI emission norm), he added.

The nation&#39;s biggest oil firm, IOC will source the fuel from its Mathura refinery, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will do so from its joint venture refinery at Bhatinda. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) supply the fuel from its Bina refinery.

&quot;Meeting Delhi&#39;s requirement of BS-VI grade petrol and diesel will not be a problem,&quot; Singh said.

He added however that meeting the requirement of the National Capital Region (NCR) will be a challenge as it consumes about 10 per cent of the nation&#39;s fuel.

India had in 2015 decided to leapfrog to Euro-VI emission norm compliant petrol and diesel from April 2020, from the Euro-IV grade at present.

While the deadline for the rest of the country stands, for Delhi, which is choking on thick toxic smog, the deadline for introduction of BS-VI - equivalent to Euro-VI grade, was last week preponed to April 2018.

Euro-VI grade fuel contains 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur as against 50 ppm in Euro-IV fuels.

Delhi consumed 906,000 tonne petrol and 1.26 million tonne diesel in 2016-17, Singh said.

Oil firms have been asked to examine the possibility of the introduction of BS-VI auto fuels in the entire NCR, which includes adjoining cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad, from April 1, 2019.

In all likelihood, according to some industry players, supplies in the NCR may not begin by 2019.

The BS-IV emission norm was introduced across the country from April 1, 2017.

Oil refineries will need to invest Rs 28,000 crore in upgrading petrol and diesel quality to meet cleaner fuel specifications by 2020.

According to IOC, for petrol engines, one of the most critical specification is Research Octane No. (RON), which has improved from 88 in BS-II to 91. It is at par with regular 91 octane gasoline (petrol) required for Euro-VI emission norms.

Sulphur specification for petrol and diesel will be reduced 50 times for a level of 500 ppm for BS-II fuel to 10 ppm in BS-VI.

Previously, the fuels meeting Euro-IV or Bharat Stage BS-IV specifications were to be supplied throughout the country by April 2017 and BS-V or Euro-V grade fuel by April 1, 2020.

But now the government plans to switch over directly from BS-IV to BS-VI auto fuels.

Oil refineries had previously upgraded technology and invested over Rs 55,000 crore for production and supply of BS.

India had in 2015 decided to leapfrog to Euro-VI emission norm compliant petrol and diesel from April 2020, from the Euro-IV grade at present

The Euro-VI grade petrol and diesel will be supplied to the national capital by three oil PSUs from their refineries at Mathura, Bina and Bhatinda from April to help it fight the alarming levels of air pollution. "We will be able to meet the requirement of Delhi from April 1," IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said here today. "We will have to tweak the fuel production slate to produce BS-VI (equivalent to fuel meeting Euro-VI emission norm), he added. The nation's biggest oil firm, IOC will source the fuel from its Mathura refinery, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will do so from its joint venture refinery at Bhatinda. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) supply the fuel from its Bina refinery. "Meeting Delhi's requirement of BS-VI grade petrol and diesel will not be a problem," Singh said. He added however that meeting the requirement of the National Capital Region (NCR) will be a challenge as it consumes about 10 per cent of the nation's fuel. India had in 2015 decided to leapfrog to Euro-VI emission norm compliant petrol and diesel from April 2020, from the Euro-IV grade at present. While the deadline for the rest of the country stands, for Delhi, which is choking on thick toxic smog, the deadline for introduction of BS-VI - equivalent to Euro-VI grade, was last week preponed to April 2018. Euro-VI grade fuel contains 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur as against 50 ppm in Euro-IV fuels. Delhi consumed 906,000 tonne petrol and 1.26 million tonne diesel in 2016-17, Singh said. Oil firms have been asked to examine the possibility of the introduction of BS-VI auto fuels in the entire NCR, which includes adjoining cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad, from April 1, 2019. In all likelihood, according to some industry players, supplies in the NCR may not begin by 2019. The BS-IV emission norm was introduced across the country from April 1, 2017. Oil refineries will need to invest Rs 28,000 crore in upgrading petrol and diesel quality to meet cleaner fuel specifications by 2020. According to IOC, for petrol engines, one of the most critical specification is Research Octane No. (RON), which has improved from 88 in BS-II to 91. It is at par with regular 91 octane gasoline (petrol) required for Euro-VI emission norms. Sulphur specification for petrol and diesel will be reduced 50 times for a level of 500 ppm for BS-II fuel to 10 ppm in BS-VI. Previously, the fuels meeting Euro-IV or Bharat Stage BS-IV specifications were to be supplied throughout the country by April 2017 and BS-V or Euro-V grade fuel by April 1, 2020. But now the government plans to switch over directly from BS-IV to BS-VI auto fuels. Oil refineries had previously upgraded technology and invested over Rs 55,000 crore for production and supply of BS.

Ready to supply Euro-VI fuel to Delhi from April, says IOC

There has to date been no confirmation from any Russian government agencies that there was an incident on Russian soil that could have caused raised levels of pollution from a radioactive isotope, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Russia&rsquo;s meteorological service said on Tuesday it had measured pollution of the ruthenium 106 isotope at nearly 1,000 times normal levels in the Ural mountains.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/russia-denies-nuclear-incident-after-contamination-reports-24768" target="_blank">Also read: Russia denies nuclear leak after reports of radioactive pollution</a>

Russia?s meteorological service said Tuesday it had measured pollution of the ruthenium 106 isotope at nearly 1,000 times normal levels in the Ural mountains

There has to date been no confirmation from any Russian government agencies that there was an incident on Russian soil that could have caused raised levels of pollution from a radioactive isotope, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Russia’s meteorological service said on Tuesday it had measured pollution of the ruthenium 106 isotope at nearly 1,000 times normal levels in the Ural mountains. Also read: Russia denies nuclear leak after reports of radioactive pollution

No proof that Russia was source of radioactive pollution, says Kremlin

Russia on Tuesday denied there had been an incident at any of its nuclear facilities after the country&#39;s weather service reported radioactive pollution that exceeded background levels by 986 times.

A station close to the Mayak nuclear facility in the Chelyabinsk region detected &quot;extremely high pollution&quot; of the radioactive isotope Ru-106, Russian meteorologists said Monday.

But a representative of Rosatom nuclear corporation told AFP &quot;there have been no incidents at nuclear infrastructure facilities in Russia,&quot; adding that the concentration detected posed little threat.

The Mayak facility in the southern Urals, which is under Rosatom&#39;s umbrella, also said the contamination &quot;has nothing to do with Mayak&#39;s activities&quot;.

The facility, which reprocesses nuclear fuel, said it has not produced Ru-106 for many years.

And it said the level detected &quot;poses no danger to human health and lives&quot; as it is 20,000 times smaller than the &quot;allowed annual dose.&quot;

Mayak was the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history in 1957.

In what is known as the Kyshtym disaster, an explosion at Mayak broke a container holding radioactive waste, prompting the evacuation of nearly 13,000 people from the area.

Consumer watchdog unconcerned&nbsp;

Russia&#39;s consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor also said the levels registered by the weather service were safe, giving a different figure of &quot;200 times below&quot; a level that would be considered unacceptable.

The highest concentration registered by the weather service was near the town of Argayash located about 20 kilometres from Mayak, and Greenpeace on Monday pointed to the facility as the likely culprit.

&quot;An emergency discharge of ruthenium could be connected with the process of nuclear waste vitrification,&quot; the Russian arm of the NGO said.

&quot;Another possibility is that materials containing ruthenium-106 were placed in a metal remelting furnace. Both these activities take place in the Rosatom complex at Mayak.&quot;

Ruthenium-106, which is produced by splitting atoms in a reactor, is used in certain medical treatments. It does not occur naturally.

&#39;Very high&#39; exposure&nbsp;

National weather service chief Rosgidromet Maksim Yakovenko also said the concentration detected &quot;poses no danger to population&#39;s health&quot;, adding that it was not the organisation&#39;s job to detect the source.

On November 9, France&#39;s Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) issued a report saying ruthenium-106 had been detected in France between September 27 and October 13.

It said that the source of the pollution was probably an accident somewhere between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, adding that the concentrations measured in Europe were not a danger to public health.

It added that the quantity of Ru-106 at the suspected release site was &quot;between 100 and 300 teraBecquerels&quot; which is &quot;very high&quot; and in France would have led to measures to protect the population in the area.

Speaking to AFP, Jean-Marc Peres, a deputy director of IRSN, said the contamination was not consistent with a leak from a power plant or a satellite, but was more than likely to have come from &quot;a treatment plant for liquid effluent of spent fuel.&quot;

The ruthenium could escape in the form of a gas in the event of a malfunction in the facility&#39;s cooling system, he said, adding that the institute was not pointing the finger at Mayak.

&quot;For us, there is uncertainty about the facility, but the area (where the contamination occurred) is certain,&quot; he said.

Asked about the incident, a regional official on Tuesday suggested that the IRSN wanted to discredit Mayak in order to boost France&#39;s own nuclear processing industry.&nbsp;

&quot;The source of this planted information was in France where there is a facility that is a competitor of our Mayak that processes nuclear waste,&quot; regional public safety minister Yevgeny Savchenko told the Ura.ru news website.&nbsp;

The country's weather service reported radioactive pollution in the Chelyabinsk region that exceeded background levels by 986 times

Russia on Tuesday denied there had been an incident at any of its nuclear facilities after the country's weather service reported radioactive pollution that exceeded background levels by 986 times. A station close to the Mayak nuclear facility in the Chelyabinsk region detected "extremely high pollution" of the radioactive isotope Ru-106, Russian meteorologists said Monday. But a representative of Rosatom nuclear corporation told AFP "there have been no incidents at nuclear infrastructure facilities in Russia," adding that the concentration detected posed little threat. The Mayak facility in the southern Urals, which is under Rosatom's umbrella, also said the contamination "has nothing to do with Mayak's activities". The facility, which reprocesses nuclear fuel, said it has not produced Ru-106 for many years. And it said the level detected "poses no danger to human health and lives" as it is 20,000 times smaller than the "allowed annual dose." Mayak was the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history in 1957. In what is known as the Kyshtym disaster, an explosion at Mayak broke a container holding radioactive waste, prompting the evacuation of nearly 13,000 people from the area. Consumer watchdog unconcerned Russia's consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor also said the levels registered by the weather service were safe, giving a different figure of "200 times below" a level that would be considered unacceptable. The highest concentration registered by the weather service was near the town of Argayash located about 20 kilometres from Mayak, and Greenpeace on Monday pointed to the facility as the likely culprit. "An emergency discharge of ruthenium could be connected with the process of nuclear waste vitrification," the Russian arm of the NGO said. "Another possibility is that materials containing ruthenium-106 were placed in a metal remelting furnace. Both these activities take place in the Rosatom complex at Mayak." Ruthenium-106, which is produced by splitting atoms in a reactor, is used in certain medical treatments. It does not occur naturally. 'Very high' exposure National weather service chief Rosgidromet Maksim Yakovenko also said the concentration detected "poses no danger to population's health", adding that it was not the organisation's job to detect the source. On November 9, France's Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) issued a report saying ruthenium-106 had been detected in France between September 27 and October 13. It said that the source of the pollution was probably an accident somewhere between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, adding that the concentrations measured in Europe were not a danger to public health. It added that the quantity of Ru-106 at the suspected release site was "between 100 and 300 teraBecquerels" which is "very high" and in France would have led to measures to protect the population in the area. Speaking to AFP, Jean-Marc Peres, a deputy director of IRSN, said the contamination was not consistent with a leak from a power plant or a satellite, but was more than likely to have come from "a treatment plant for liquid effluent of spent fuel." The ruthenium could escape in the form of a gas in the event of a malfunction in the facility's cooling system, he said, adding that the institute was not pointing the finger at Mayak. "For us, there is uncertainty about the facility, but the area (where the contamination occurred) is certain," he said. Asked about the incident, a regional official on Tuesday suggested that the IRSN wanted to discredit Mayak in order to boost France's own nuclear processing industry. "The source of this planted information was in France where there is a facility that is a competitor of our Mayak that processes nuclear waste," regional public safety minister Yevgeny Savchenko told the Ura.ru news website.

Russia denies nuclear leak after reports of radioactive pollution

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has hit out at the AAP government, saying lack of preparedness in tackling pollution in the national capital shows &quot;failure of governance&quot;, and pitched for a Centre-led panel to deal with the issue of pollution.

Dikshit also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation for making &quot;pronouncements&quot; but not following them up, and said the government used its run-ins with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as an &quot;excuse&quot; for not delivering.

The veteran Congress leader said the Delhi government &quot;failed&quot; to anticipate the pollution crisis despite it being a repeat of that last year when stubble burning was again supposed to have been a major cause for toxic air.

&quot;It is nothing that has happened which wasn&#39;t expected and not to be prepared for it is a failure of governance,&quot; Dikshit told PTI here in an interview. 
She called for a committee to deal with the issue.

&quot;I personally feel now that the government of India should make a committee of people representing Punjab, Haryana, UP and of course Delhi and see that before the stubbling takes place, a method is found on how to deal with it (stubble burning),&quot; the three-time chief minister of Delhi said.

A &quot;substantially knowledgeable&quot; panel has to be formed, she said, adding that it must comprise experts, who can find a solution to the problem of increasing pollution.

On the issue of stubble or crop residue burning, Dikshit said the Delhi government should have worked with the Punjab, Haryana and the Uttar Pradesh governments to find an alternative to it.

She also suggested that governments look into pooling in resources to deploy machines which can roll up the stubble so that it can be used for something else rather than being burnt, which significantly leads to smoke and pollution.

The National Green Tribunal had earlier this month issued a slew of directions to deal with the worsening air quality in Delhi and neighboring states, banning construction, industrial activities and entry of trucks, while lambasting the Delhi government and civic bodies for the situation.

Dikshit, who was the chief minister of Delhi from 1998- 2013, also said there was a need to have a vision for Delhi which was &quot;all collapsing&quot; as a capital city.

Slamming the AAP dispensation for not following up on their promises, she alleged that even the work which her government had started, such as north Delhi&#39;s Signature Bridge project, was not being completed.

On the LG-AAP government frequent confrontations, she said Delhi did not have full statehood and so it lacked the kind of freedom that UP, Madhya Pradesh or Haryana enjoyed. 
The government has to work within the framework of the Constitution applicable to Delhi and it is to be done with the central government&#39;s cooperation, the 79-year-old leader said.

&quot;But to keep on saying (that the Centre is not allowing them to work) now looks as though it is an excuse not to do anything,&quot; she said, adding that under her administration Delhi changed despite the system and the Constitution is the same.

&quot;You are finding excuses for not working, blaming everybody else except yourself. Why are you not working,&quot; Dikshit said about the AAP government. 
Stressing that cooperation was an important factor in governance, she said the AAP government should resolve its differences with the LG and the Centre for the good of Delhi&#39;s residents.

&quot;Everybody is interested in making this look like a real capital city and it had started looking like a capital city. It is one of the top capitals of the world but now it&#39;s all collapsing,&quot; Dikshit lamented.

&nbsp;

The former Delhi chief minister pitched for a Centre-led panel to deal with the issue of pollution

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has hit out at the AAP government, saying lack of preparedness in tackling pollution in the national capital shows "failure of governance", and pitched for a Centre-led panel to deal with the issue of pollution. Dikshit also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation for making "pronouncements" but not following them up, and said the government used its run-ins with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as an "excuse" for not delivering. The veteran Congress leader said the Delhi government "failed" to anticipate the pollution crisis despite it being a repeat of that last year when stubble burning was again supposed to have been a major cause for toxic air. "It is nothing that has happened which wasn't expected and not to be prepared for it is a failure of governance," Dikshit told PTI here in an interview. She called for a committee to deal with the issue. "I personally feel now that the government of India should make a committee of people representing Punjab, Haryana, UP and of course Delhi and see that before the stubbling takes place, a method is found on how to deal with it (stubble burning)," the three-time chief minister of Delhi said. A "substantially knowledgeable" panel has to be formed, she said, adding that it must comprise experts, who can find a solution to the problem of increasing pollution. On the issue of stubble or crop residue burning, Dikshit said the Delhi government should have worked with the Punjab, Haryana and the Uttar Pradesh governments to find an alternative to it. She also suggested that governments look into pooling in resources to deploy machines which can roll up the stubble so that it can be used for something else rather than being burnt, which significantly leads to smoke and pollution. The National Green Tribunal had earlier this month issued a slew of directions to deal with the worsening air quality in Delhi and neighboring states, banning construction, industrial activities and entry of trucks, while lambasting the Delhi government and civic bodies for the situation. Dikshit, who was the chief minister of Delhi from 1998- 2013, also said there was a need to have a vision for Delhi which was "all collapsing" as a capital city. Slamming the AAP dispensation for not following up on their promises, she alleged that even the work which her government had started, such as north Delhi's Signature Bridge project, was not being completed. On the LG-AAP government frequent confrontations, she said Delhi did not have full statehood and so it lacked the kind of freedom that UP, Madhya Pradesh or Haryana enjoyed. The government has to work within the framework of the Constitution applicable to Delhi and it is to be done with the central government's cooperation, the 79-year-old leader said. "But to keep on saying (that the Centre is not allowing them to work) now looks as though it is an excuse not to do anything," she said, adding that under her administration Delhi changed despite the system and the Constitution is the same. "You are finding excuses for not working, blaming everybody else except yourself. Why are you not working," Dikshit said about the AAP government. Stressing that cooperation was an important factor in governance, she said the AAP government should resolve its differences with the LG and the Centre for the good of Delhi's residents. "Everybody is interested in making this look like a real capital city and it had started looking like a capital city. It is one of the top capitals of the world but now it's all collapsing," Dikshit lamented.

AAP inability to tackle pollution governance failure: Sheila Dikshit

The national capital received some rainfall late Friday&nbsp;cleaning up some of the smog.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Delhi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Delhi</a> witnessed overnight drizzle: Visuals from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rajpath?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rajpath</a> <a href="https://t.co/GP3gsdPC0J">pic.twitter.com/GP3gsdPC0J</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/931700262271463425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Pollution levels decreased further on Friday as Delhi received rainfall in some parts of the city, and is expected to witness more such drizzles on Saturday as well, an official from the MET department told the media.&nbsp;

Due to a disturbance in the western part of the country, overnight rain hit the national capital, reports say.&nbsp;

The approximate Air Quality Index of Delhi, which was measured at 363 on Thursday, decreased to 310 on Friday.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Visuals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Visuals</a> from Rajpath after overnight drizzling: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Delhi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Delhi</a>&#39;s Anand Vihar at 260, Punjabi Bagh at 251, Siri Fort at 236, Shadipur at 214 in Air Quality Index; all of them fall in &#39;Very Unhealthy category&#39; <a href="https://t.co/DIJh030LfO">pic.twitter.com/DIJh030LfO</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/931701867918135296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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An AQI value between 301 and 400 is said to be under the &lsquo;very poor&rsquo; category of pollution.&nbsp;

Levels of particulate matter also decreased throughout the day in Delhi-NCR after showing a slight high on Thursday.&nbsp;

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49 trains delayed, 14 rescheduled and one cancelled: Visuals from New <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Delhi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Delhi</a> Railway Station <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pollution?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pollution</a> <a href="https://t.co/1cq0W4oOnS">pic.twitter.com/1cq0W4oOnS</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/931703944480309249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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As rains continue to hit the capital, the pollution levels and particulate matter are expected to decrease, making the air cleaner, reports added.

Meanwhile, as many as 49 trains were delayed while 14 rescheduled and one cancelled due to smog.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Due to a disturbance in the western part of the country, overnight rain hit the national capital

The national capital received some rainfall late Friday cleaning up some of the smog. #Delhi witnessed overnight drizzle: Visuals from #Rajpath pic.twitter.com/GP3gsdPC0J — ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2017 × Pollution levels decreased further on Friday as Delhi received rainfall in some parts of the city, and is expected to witness more such drizzles on Saturday as well, an official from the MET department told the media. Due to a disturbance in the western part of the country, overnight rain hit the national capital, reports say. The approximate Air Quality Index of Delhi, which was measured at 363 on Thursday, decreased to 310 on Friday. #Visuals from Rajpath after overnight drizzling: #Delhi's Anand Vihar at 260, Punjabi Bagh at 251, Siri Fort at 236, Shadipur at 214 in Air Quality Index; all of them fall in 'Very Unhealthy category' pic.twitter.com/DIJh030LfO — ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2017 × An AQI value between 301 and 400 is said to be under the ‘very poor’ category of pollution. Levels of particulate matter also decreased throughout the day in Delhi-NCR after showing a slight high on Thursday. 49 trains delayed, 14 rescheduled and one cancelled: Visuals from New #Delhi Railway Station #Pollution pic.twitter.com/1cq0W4oOnS — ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2017 × As rains continue to hit the capital, the pollution levels and particulate matter are expected to decrease, making the air cleaner, reports added. Meanwhile, as many as 49 trains were delayed while 14 rescheduled and one cancelled due to smog.

Overnight drizzle in Delhi may help ease up pollution

In a surprise move, <a href="http://the Environment Pollution Control Authority(EPCA) today">the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) today</a> issued a direction to remove ban on entry of trucks and construction activities in Delhi.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-pollution-children-are-inhaling-cigarette-the-moment-they-are-born-24287">four-time hike in parking fees was </a>withdrawn by the EPCA.

The Delhi government had written a letter to the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday requesting the parking fee be withdrawn.

In the letter, the Delhi government had said: &quot;Hiking the parking charges by DMRC would mean commuters who would otherwise park their vehicles in DMRC parking and use the Metro are likely to travel in their own vehicle.&quot;

The letter said Lt Governor&#39;s decision to enhance parking charges &quot;appeared to have been taken in haste&quot;, adding,&quot;it has resulted in commuters parking on the roadside, leading to shrinking of road space for driving.&quot;

&quot;The decision to hike parking charges hasn&#39;t fulfilled the desired objective,&quot; the letter said.

Last week, the EPCA had directed the Delhi government to intensify public transport service to ensure there are more buses on the road as pollution dipped alarmingly in the national capital.

The pollution control body had also advised the Delhi government to implement the odd-even scheme for private vehicles however the NGT refused to allow exemptions to women drivers and&nbsp;government vehicles, as a result, the Kejriwal government decided to drop the scheme.

Meanwhile, the NGT has directed all schools and colleges in Delhi to install the rainwater harvesting systems within two months. The tribunal has decided to impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh if schools fail to implement the water system.

The National Green Tribunal on Thursday also directed the Delhi government to submit data of ambient air quality and said it would consider lifting its ban on construction and industrial activity in the National Capital Region (NCR) on that basis.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that it would take up the matter on Friday and till then its order would be in force.

The four-fold hike in parking fees was also lifted

In a surprise move, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) today issued a direction to remove ban on entry of trucks and construction activities in Delhi. The four-time hike in parking fees was withdrawn by the EPCA. The Delhi government had written a letter to the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday requesting the parking fee be withdrawn. In the letter, the Delhi government had said: "Hiking the parking charges by DMRC would mean commuters who would otherwise park their vehicles in DMRC parking and use the Metro are likely to travel in their own vehicle." The letter said Lt Governor's decision to enhance parking charges "appeared to have been taken in haste", adding,"it has resulted in commuters parking on the roadside, leading to shrinking of road space for driving." "The decision to hike parking charges hasn't fulfilled the desired objective," the letter said. Last week, the EPCA had directed the Delhi government to intensify public transport service to ensure there are more buses on the road as pollution dipped alarmingly in the national capital. The pollution control body had also advised the Delhi government to implement the odd-even scheme for private vehicles however the NGT refused to allow exemptions to women drivers and government vehicles, as a result, the Kejriwal government decided to drop the scheme. Meanwhile, the NGT has directed all schools and colleges in Delhi to install the rainwater harvesting systems within two months. The tribunal has decided to impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh if schools fail to implement the water system. The National Green Tribunal on Thursday also directed the Delhi government to submit data of ambient air quality and said it would consider lifting its ban on construction and industrial activity in the National Capital Region (NCR) on that basis. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that it would take up the matter on Friday and till then its order would be in force.

Delhi pollution: EPCA lifts construction ban, NGT to review Friday

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