No respite as city air remains ‘very poor’

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category on Wednesday, with four areas recording “severe” pollution levels even as the Cental Pollution Control Board (CPCB) directed agencies to join social media to help citizens lodge complaints directly.

Pollution watchdog CPCB also noted that actions of the public and enforcement bodies have been “inadequate” in curbing pollution.

With no clarity on undertaking of cloud seeding to induce artificial rain in the national capital, scientists at IIT-Kanpur said they had made all preparations, including procurement of aircraft from the Isro, to conduct the same.

According to the CPCB data, the overall air quality index (AQI) in the city was recorded at 373, which falls in the “very poor” category. Anand Vihar, Nehru Nagar, Mundka and Wazirpur recorded “severe” air quality, while 30 areas recorded “very poor” air quality, it said.

At 392, the overall air quality of Greater Noida was the worst in the NCR, just points below the “severe” category. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too recorded “very poor” overall air quality.

On Wednesday, the PM2.5 level (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometre level) was recorded at 240, while the PM10 level was recorded at 389, the CPCB data said.

According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (Safar), air quality in the national capital is expected to remain in the “very poor” category in the next two to three days.

“At present, winds are unfavourable for dispersion which allows pollutants to accumulate. Humidity is still high which is unfavourable,” the Safar said in its report, adding that fire counts from stubble burning has declined and will have a marginal impact.

Meanwhile, the CPCB directed public and enforcement agencies to immediately join social media platforms on which citizens can lodge their complaints on pollution directly.