Pollution chokes Delhi, government steps in as smog worsens

With Delhi and its satellite towns witnessing the season’s worst air quality, the Centre on Friday introduced a set of emergency responses, including a 30 per cent cut in government vehicle use, that would kick in immediately to reduce generation of dust particles and polluting gases besides advising citizens not to step out of their homes unless really needed.

The thick haze of toxic smog that choked Delhi-NCR residents and caused eye irritation throughout the day is likely to stay at least for the next one week as meteorological conditions would remain highly unfavourable for the dispersal of pollutants till November 18.

The major culprit is 4,000-plus incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana where farmers torched their fields to get rid of the crop residue after harvest so that the next crop could be planted in time.

Also Read | Netizens come up with memes to highlight Delhi's poor air quality

"Because of a delayed monsoon withdrawal, the harvesting shifted by a week in Punjab and Haryana as a result of which stubble burning is happening in colder climates when air has the ability to hold the pollutants for a longer time. My fear is 2021 will witness one of the longest extreme air pollution periods in Delhi-NCR,” Gufran Beig, founder project director of air quality and weather monitor platform SAFAR that falls under the Ministry of Earth Science told DH.

Friday’s share of crop residue burning is about 35 per cent in PM2.5 concentration in Delhi. “Over the next few days, this needs to be reduced to avoid a repeat of 2017 when stubble burning, Diwali and a dust storm originating in the gulf combined leading to one of the worst air pollution episodes,” he said.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s Air Quality Index, the entire National Capital Region reported “severe” AQI red-flagging the dangers of breathing such toxic air.

Also Read | Vehicles accounted for over 50 per cent pollution in Delhi in early winters, says think tank report

Ghaziabad reported the worst AQI at 486 in a scale of 500 followed by Greater Noida (478), Delhi (471), Faridabad (460) and Gurugram (448).

A CPCB panel reviewed the air quality situation and reported that the concentration of superfine dust particles like PM10 and PM2.5 exceeded the threshold limit turning the NCR air into a deadly concoction.

The PM10 level was more than 500 micrograms per cubic metre whereas for PM2.5, it is more than 300 micrograms. For comparison, the CPCB safe limit for PM2.5 is 60 micrograms whereas for PM10, it is 100 micrograms.

SAFAR presented an AQI of 462 for Delhi, 779 for Noida and 457 for Gurugram.

The CPCB advised the government, private offices and other establishments to reduce vehicle usage by 30 per cent and asked all agencies to step up their action as the next one week would be critical for Delhi's air quality.

Other emergency actions include increased mechanised road cleaning and sprinkling of water, hike of parking fee by 3-4 times to discourage use of private vehicles, increasing public transport, stopping the use of diesel generators except in emergencies and halting use of hot mix plants and brick kilns in Delhi-NCR.

Watch the latest DH Videos here: