Air Pollution Watch LIVE Updates: Delhi Environment Min Demands 'Emergency Meet' With Neighbouring States on Crop Residue Burning

As per our study at Lung Care Foundation, more than 50% of adolescents have a higher incidence of chest symptoms, 29% have asthma, 40% are obese (200% higher incidence of asthma). Children are suffering: Dr. Arvind Kumar, Chairman, ICS-Medanta tells ANI on Delhi air pollution.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, alongside climate change. It recommends new air quality levels to protect the health of people, by reducing levels of key air pollutants/particulate matter equal or smaller than 10 and 2.5 microns (µm) in diameter (PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅, respectively). They not only affect the lungs but PM₂.₅ can enter the bloodstream, causing cardiovascular and respiratory impacts. READ MORE

The Centre must hold an “emergency” meeting of states neighbouring Delhi to devise a mechanism to deal with crop residue burning due to which the city’s air quality has deteriorated, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday. The city’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 437 in the severe category at 8 am on Sunday. It was 449 on Saturday. Incidents of crop residue (parali) burning in other states and the air quality in Delhi are linked as deteriorating air quality figures show, Rai said at a press conference. “There was also effect of cracker bursting on Diwali but it’s waning now. The effect of parali’ burning, however, continues to worsen air quality in Delhi,” he said. Rai said he has written to the Union environment minister asking for an “emergency” meeting of states, including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi to find a mechanism to address the perennial issue of crop residue burning and high level of air pollution in the national capital.

The air quality of Agra on Sunday was recorded in Severe category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) at Agra was recorded at 380 at 4 pm on Saturday. An AQI between zero 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’. Health experts suggested that people having respiratory trouble should avoid going for morning or evening walks and wear protective masks without fail.

The photograph from Noida shows low visibility due to a thick layer of smog on Saturday.

“Installing a smoke tower is a colossal waste of public money and a grave mistake. The answer lies in preventing the air from getting polluted. Pollution has killed more people than Covid-19 has,” Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Institute of Chest Surgery, Medanta said on air pollution in Delhi.

Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, ICS-Medanta said, “As per our study at Lung Care Foundation, more than 50 percent of adolescents have a higher incidence of chest symptoms, 29% have asthma, 40% are obese.” He added that there has been a 200 percent increase in incidence of asthma.

Taj Mahal enveloped in smoky haze in Agra, as the overall air quality in the city remains in ‘severe’ category as per Central Pollution Control Board, ANI reported.

BJP leader Amit Malviya alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has spent 940 crore on pollution advertisements in the last 7 years but has done nothing else to tackle the problem.

A blatant disregard to the ban on firecrackers led to severe air pollution in the national capital during the Diwali week, experts said on Friday as Delhiites witnessed choking levels of pollution. Experts felt that a lack of understanding about how to celebrate green Diwali is one of the biggest reasons behind it as people think the festival and firecrackers are synonymous. Kamal Narayan, CEO of Integrated Health and Wellbeing Council, said, “Delhiites woke up to a severe air quality this morning due to blatant disregard to the Delhi government’s ban on firecrackers. People burst firecrackers across Delhi on Diwali and this contributed to the already poor quality of air in the national capital.”

Amid the deteriorating condition of air quality in Delhi and other neighboring states, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has stated that pollution could lead to more severe cases of Covid-19 infection in the coming days. Explaining the same, he said pollution affects respiratory health, especially to those who have lung and asthma issues. READ MORE

The maximum temperature in the national capital is likely to hover around 28 degrees Celsius, the Met officials said. According to Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app, the city’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 437 in the severe category at 8 am on Sunday. It was 449 on Saturday. Due to rampant bursting of crackers on Thursday despite restrictions in place, the air quality in Delhi was the poorest in five years post the festival with rise in incidents of stubble burning in neighbouring states.

Delhiites woke up to a cold Sunday morning with the minimum temperature in the national capital settling at 14.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season, the Indian Meteorological Department said. Relative humidity recorded at 8.30 am was 70 per cent, they said. The weather office has forecast partly cloudy sky with shallow fog in the morning and strong winds during the day.

Farmers burnt stubble in Punjab’s Patiala on Saturday. The visual shows stubble burning from Seona village. “We request govt to arrange proper machinery for stubble disposal and to pay for this stubble to farmers, only then stubble burning can stop,” Guru Dhyan Singh, a farmer from Seona village told ANI.

Three days after Diwali, Delhi’s overall air quality continues to remain under ‘severe’ category. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital on Sunday morning remained at 436. An AQI between 0-50 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’.

With hazy skies, Noida’s overall air quality index stands at 450 under ‘severe’ category.

The Delhi government on Saturday deployed 114 water tankers to sprinkle water on roads to settle dust, one of major contributors to air pollution, after the national capital’s AQI deteriorated following the Diwali festival. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai flagged off the water tankers, terming it an “emergency measure” to help people. “Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had launched an action plan that is being implemented across the city.

Strong surface winds slightly improved Delhi’s air quality on Saturday but it remained in the ‘severe’ category as the contribution of farm fires in the city’s PM2.5 pollution reached the season’s highest of 41 per cent, officials said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, the city’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 449 (severe) at 8 am, and 437 at 4 pm.

Agra witnessed a rise in the number of people suffering from respiratory issues post Diwali even as the city recorded an air quality index at 380 on Saturday. The city has been covered in a dense layer of smog since Diwali on November 4. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI at Agra was recorded at 380 at 4 pm.