Delhi-NCR Air Pollution LIVE: 'Diya Jalao, Patakhe Nahi' Campaign From Today; AQI Back to 'Poor' But Sky Clear of Smog

The burning of crop residue in Punjab and neighbouring states adjoining Delhi must stop, the Supreme Court asserted on Friday, warning “everybody’s children” will suffer if authorities betray hesitancy in taking punitive action.

(With PTI inputs)

With the temperature dipping in Bihar, people in the major cities are dealing with the challenges of rising air pollution.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of cities like Patna went into the severe zone as the Bihar State Pollution Control Board registered 301 AQI US on Friday morning. Alarmingly, the PM 2.5 is 167 but PM 10 has reached 392 per cubic meter.

In Saharsa, the AQI US is 204 and PM 2.5 and PM 10 respectively are 151 and 262. These are unhealthy conditions for people especially those having heart related ailments and asthmatic patients.

“With the AQI index having breached the 300 mark, it is extremely dangerous for heart, bronchitis and asthmatic patients. The asthmatic patients need to take more precautions every time they step out of the house. People need to wear masks and regularly drink water,” said Dr Sanjay Vashistha, a Patna based ENT specialist.

An analysis shows the delicate balance of wind speed, year-round air pollution, and seasonal stubble all have a role to play in creating this annual cocktail of noxious gases in the national capital in November.

The stubble burning has particularly impacted Delhi air pollution in the past decade as the paddy harvesting season shifted and began to collide with the onset of winter and the festivities.

These were the views of Aarti Khosla, Director of Climate Trends, a research-based capacity building initiative in Delhi.

In an interview, she told IANS that in 2023 the farm fire data from Punjab and Haryana reveals a substantial reduction of 47.8 per cent and 38.04 per cent, respectively, against data for October 2022.

“But since the volume of wind from the region is very high, it brings the undesirable impact of heavy pollution. This, in addition to local emissions like power plants, industries, traffic and construction, has continued to rise in recent years.

As the winter season descends upon the national capital with northern India and much of the subcontinent, Delhi finds itself grappling with an annual environmental challenge – air pollution.

Releasing a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of the deadly winter pollution that has gripped Delhi-NCR these days, Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said: “This winter season has started with a much higher pollution level compared to November last year. The combination of adverse meteorological conditions, onset of crop residue burning, and high local pollution has tilted the scale dangerously, increasing public health risk, an IANS report said.

According to the report, about 13 pollution hotspots that were identified in 2018-10 continue to remain a challenge, while newer hotspots are emerging as well and have proliferated.

Among all hotspots, Mundka and New Moti Bagh are the most polluted locations in Delhi with average PM2.5 levels exceeding 300 µg/m3. Most of the official hotspots of Delhi are exceeding the ‘severe’ level of pollution.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai has written to Uttar Pradesh transport minister asking him to take action on plying the non-destined vehicles in Delhi from the UP border.

As the spectre of pollution and the resultant respiratory diseases loom large in Delhi, solutions are being mulled to help bring respite to citizens from the suffocating air. Controlling pollution through artificial rain, reducing vehicular traffic, using air purifiers and masks are some options. Also on the table are cautious living, which includes staying indoors, eating healthy, and perhaps going out of town on a long holiday.

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The Delhi government on Friday announced ‘Diya Jalao, Patakhe Nahi’ campaign in the city amid concerns of pollution rising again after Diwali festivities.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “Today, due to the rain and wind, pollution has reduced significantly. People of nearby cities are requested to light the lamps and distribute sweets during Diwali, do not burst firecrackers. We want the pollution level to remain good even on the next day of Diwali. The campaign of ‘Diya Jalao, Patakhe Nahi’ begins today.”

Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya saw a brief spell of rain as the city is set to host the Deepotsav celebrations on Diwali eve.

Delhi’s Environment Gopal Rai said, “…After the rain, pollution dispersed and the wind was also blowing. It resulted in reducing the pollution by 50 per cent from 450 AQI to 225 AQI in Delhi.” However, he said that its too early to say how long will the rain’s impact last.

The Centre will send flying squads to Punjab and Haryana for monitoring stubble burning cases and submitting daily reports amid information which suggested that the crop burning in Punjab is the major reason behind Delhi-NCR’s air pollution.

This decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary on Wednesday. In attendance at the meeting were chief secretaries and other senior officials from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, as well as the Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM) and secretaries from the ministries of environment, agriculture, housing and urban affairs, and power. READ MORE

The national capital on Saturday woke up to clear, blue skies, getting a relief from the hazardous smog that had taken over the state’s atmosphere for the last two weeks.

Delhi’s AQI at 7 am stood at 219, which is a notable improvement compared to Thursday’s average AQI of 437.

This improvement in the pollution level is attributed to the unseasonal rains that took place in the city over the last 30-32 hours.

Neighbouring regions of Gurugram (181 AQI), Ghaziabad (157 AQI), Greater Noida (131 AQI), Faridabad (174 AQI), also recorded a notably improved air quality.

Delhi and its neighbouring regions have been witnessing heavy traffic since Friday as office-goers head home to celebrate Diwali. Saturday morning visuals showed crawling traffic on the road leading towards Anand Vihar ISBT and railway station.

On Friday evening, which was ‘Dhanteras’, Ghazipur border, Delhi-Gurugram Expressway and Delhi-Meerut Expressway witnessed packed roads. The heavy rush came amid government’s repeated requests and mulling ‘odd-even’ to reduce vehicular pollution amid ‘hazardous’ air in the national capital. READ MORE

Air pollution can have several detrimental effects on the skin. The side effects are seen more in children, elderly and people with sensitive skin types. Some of the common effects include:

Premature Aging: Air pollutants like fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can lead to oxidative stress, which accelerates the aging process, causing wrinkles and fine lines. Find out more here.

The constant onslaught of pollutants has been turning the air passages of healthy individuals to resemble those in asthma patients, the country’s top pulmonologist told News18.

According to Dr Randeep Guleria, former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, it’s crucial to find something that will consistently protect the health of youngsters and children, a population segment aggressively increasing in proportion among patients with respiratory distress.

For the past week, residents of Delhi have endured a hazardous and stifling smog as the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassed the 500-mark and hovered around the “severe” and “severe-plus” categories. The city got a breather on Friday with unseasonal rain improving air quality and visibility. READ MORE

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday wrote to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana transport ministers requesting them to ensure that trucks carrying non-essential goods are diverted through peripheral expressways to avoid traffic jams at the capital’s borders.

He urged that all the non-destined vehicles should be diverted through Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway right at their entry points before Delhi Border.

Earlier in the day, during a press conference, Rai had expressed concerns over the negligence in the implementation of the ban on the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi at smaller entry points.

He said the government will write a letter to the Delhi transport commissioner, urging them to plug the gaps.

• Patiala, Punjab: AQI at 64
• Sector 51 Gurugram: AQI at 213
• Perungudi, Chennai: AQI at 167
• City Railway Station, Bangalore: AQI at 61
• Hyderabad: AQI at 160
• Sion, Mumbai: AQI at 134
• Bhopal: AQI at 160

Mumbai’s air quality has also improved after two days of rains. India Meteorological Department (IMD) official Sunil Kamble said “AQI index of last two days was more than 200 or it was just crossing 200, but it was in the moderate category. Today, it has come to an almost satisfactory level because we received rain for two days…”

Vehicles entering the national capital are being checked by officials amid the measures imposed under the Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to control the rising pollution.

A morning walker at Delhi’s Kartavya Path on Saturday said that “After rains, the pollution has slightly decreased but bad air quality condition persists. We are still facing some problems in breathing.”