BJP takes potshots at Arvind Kejriwal for Delhi’s pollution

New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday blamed Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for poor air quality not just in Delhi but whole of north India, attributing the farm fires on the day of Diwali in AAP-run Punjab for the pollution in the capital and other cities.

The capital’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 326 at 8 am on Tuesday. The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (285), Noida (320), Greater Noida (294), Gurugram (315) and Faridabad (310) reported ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ air quality.

Taking to Twitter, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that as many as 1,019 instances of farm fires in Punjab were the reason for poor air quality in not just Delhi but whole of north India.

“1,019 instances of farm fires in AAP run Punjab on the day of Diwali is the reason for poor air quality in not just Delhi but whole of north India. Arvind Kejriwal failed farmers of Punjab, who were expecting 1,000 per acre for their Parali. Don’t blame Diwali, blame Kejriwal…,” he tweeted.

He also shared a table of real-time monitoring of stubble burning between 15 October to 24 October, which showed that Punjab topped the list of farm fires at 5,617, followed by Haryana at 1,360 and Uttar Pradesh at a distant 552. On the day of Diwali alone, there were instances of 1,019 farm fires in Punjab, 250 in Haryana and 215 in Uttar Pradesh.

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’.

Though the air quality in Delhi on the morning after Diwali was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category, the situation was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of firecrackers and stubble burning.

However, the relatively better air this morning doesn’t mean it’s good air. The PM2.5 levels at 30 out of the 35 monitoring stations in the capital were five to six times the national standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre at 8 am.

PM2.5 are fine particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter and can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs and entering the bloodstream.

According to the Early Warning System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the air quality is predicted to remain in the ‘very poor’ category during the day (Tuesday) and is likely to improve slightly over the next two days.

With inputs from agencies

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