Delhi’s air is worsening, some curbs start Oct 15

New Delhi: Two weeks ahead of Diwali, a layer of haze lingered over the national capital Sunday as its air quality index (AQI) deteriorated further and touched the 245 mark, that falls in the “poor” category.

The AQI in some outlying areas, such as Anand Vihar, Wazirpur, Vivek Vihar, Mundka, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, was 327, 323, 317, 309, 302 and 300 respectively, which falls in the “very poor” category, the Central Pollution Control Board data showed. The air quality in neighbouring Ghazi-abad (320) and Noida (310) in UP and Haryana’s Alipur Khalsa (351) and Panipat (339) also turned “very poor” by 4.30 pm. Faridabad, Greater Noida, Baghpat and Murthal recorded an AQI at 290, 233, 280, 259 and 245 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”. On Saturday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the city’s air quality started deteriorating as the smoke from crop residue burning in adjoining states reached Delhi. Despite a ban on stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, farmers continue to defy it amid a lack of financial incentives.

From October 15, stricter measures to fight air pollution will come into force in Delhi and its neighbourhood. These include a ban on diesel generator sets, closure of brick kilns, stopping entry of trucks in Delhi and construction activities, and introduction of the “odd-even” scheme.