Finally, breather for Delhiites as city’s air better than last 4 days

New Delhi: The air quality of the national capital improved slightly on Wednesday and was in the “very poor” category due to improved meteorological conditions even as the state government warned of strict action against officials who fail to comply with its directions of mitigating pollution emanating from dust and waste burning.

After battling severe pollution for four consecutive days, the authorities predicted that the air quality will improve by Thursday as good wind speed will continue to disperse pollutants faster than accumulation caused by the cold condition and fog.

EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal said the conditions will get better in the coming days with improved meteorological conditions.

Environment minister Imran Hussain convened a high-level meeting to review the implementation of the graded response action plan (GRAP), a strategy mandated by the Supreme Court to combat and mitigate air pollution in Delhi, and warned of strict action against officials failing to comply with directives.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at ‘very poor’ level of 396, while the Centre-run SAFAR showed an AQI of 369 which too falls in the ‘very poor’ category.

According to the CPCB data, 21 areas recorded severe pollution, while 13 areas witnessed “very poor” air quality. In NCR, Ghaziabad recorded “severe” air quality while Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida recorded ‘very poor’ air quality.

The overall PM2.5 level  was recorded at 249 and the PM10 level at 378 here, the CPCB said.

The city recorded its second highest pollution level of the year on Sunday with an AQI of 450. The air quality remained ‘severe’ on Monday and Tuesday before moving to “very poor” category on Wednesday morning.

According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), air quality is likely to improve as the meteorological conditions like wind speed and ventilation index are marginally favourable for dispersion of pollutants.

Ventilation index is the speed at which pollutants can get dispersed. A ventilation index lower than 6,000 sqm/second, with average wind speed less than 10 kmph, is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants. The index was 5,500 sqm/second on Wednesday, the IITM said.

In view of prevalence of severe pollution in the national capital, industrial activities in pollution hotspots of  Wazirpur, Mundka, Narela, Bawana, Sahibabad and Faridabad, and construction work across Delhi-NCR was ordered to remain shut till Wednesday.     

In a letter to Delhi chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal directed him to ban all construction activities in the national capital, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida till Wednesday.

The EPCA directed the traffic police to deploy special teams and ensure congestion-free traffic flow particularly in identified high-traffic corridors. The agencies concerned have also been asked to ensure strict action against illegal industries, intensify ground action and make all efforts to control polluting activities, particularly waste burning.