The air quality of Delhi improved to ‘poor’ category on Monday, from ‘severe’ category a day earlier, due to stronger surface winds and less effect in Delhi of stubble burning in neighbouring States. The air quality of Gurugram and Noida also improved to the “poor” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
Anti-pollution drive
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia along with Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched the second phase of the ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ campaign.
Addressing reporters during the event. Mr. Sisodia said: “People flouting ban on bursting firecrackers were negligible in Delhi, but in the neighbouring States there were massive bursting of firecrackers.”
The second phase of the campaign will run from November 16 to November 30.
“According to our survey, nearly 1 lakh people per day switched off their engines and participated in the red light campaign. Looking at the situation and the massive participation of the people, the Delhi government is launching the second phase of this campaign from today,” Mr. Rai said.
“The Air Quality Index (AQI) is likely to improve and ‘poor’ category is forecast for Tuesday. AQI is forecast to marginally deteriorate and stay in the ‘very poor’ category on November 18 and 19,” said government-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research).
The 24-hour average AQI of Delhi was 221 on Monday, and the values for Gurugram and Noida were 246 and 243, respectively.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘’good’’, 51 and 100 ‘’satisfactory’’, 101 and 200 ‘’moderate’’, 201 and 300 ‘’poor’’, 301 and 400 ‘’very poor’’, and 401 and 500 ‘’severe’’.
Satellite imagery
The number of stubble fires in Haryana, Punjab, and neighbouring border regions of Delhi was 282, but this figure could be an underestimate due to the inability of satellites to identify spots under cloudy conditions, SAFAR said.
The contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring States to PM2.5 level in Delhi was estimated to be 1% on Monday.