The air in the capital Delhi has reached ‘very poor’ category for the second consecutive day. According to the latest data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 363 on Wednesday, which is the worst level this month. Despite the decline in incidents of stubble burning, the amount of toxic particles in Delhi’s air has increased rapidly.
The situation is serious in many areas of Delhi. The AQI has been recorded in the ‘severe’ category at six monitoring stations namely Anand Vihar (421), Nehru Nagar (420), RK Puram (404), Patparganj (409), Vivek Vihar (401) and Wazirpur (408).
After the glow of lights and firecrackers that Delhi saw after Diwali on Tuesday night, on Wednesday morning the city was seen wrapped in a blanket of smog and smoke. pollution This surge in water levels is due to firecrackers, vehicle smoke and meteorological conditions.
Reduction in stubble, but poison remains in the air
of Delhi air pollution Till now it has been linked to stubble burning, but this time the figures tell a different story. According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), there has been a 96 percent decline in stubble burning cases in Punjab this year. Between September 15 and October 21, only 415 cases were recorded in Punjab, whereas in 2020 the number was 10,791. In Haryana too, the incidents dropped from 1,326 to 55 during the same period.
However, Uttar Pradesh has recorded an increase in stubble burning cases – 660 incidents were reported this year compared to 554 cases in 2020. Most incidents of fire have been reported in districts like Mathura, Pilibhit and Barabanki. Experts say that now the smoke of pollution is shifting from the west towards the eastern direction, i.e. UP.
PM2.5 levels increased five times
According to data from the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, PM2.5 levels in Delhi rose from 157 µg/m³ to 675 µg/m³ on Diwali night – an 11-fold increase. The 24-hour average level remained above 300 µg/m³, the worst since 2021.
Experts warn
Environmental experts say that improvement in Delhi’s air is possible only if local sources – such as vehicle exhaust, road dust and construction work – are strictly controlled. Despite curbs on stubble, the lack of reduction in pollution shows that the center of the problem is now within Delhi.
GRAP Stage-II implemented, improvement in air expected
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had activated Stage-II of GRAP on Sunday itself. 14.6% pollution was contributed by transport, 8.3% by Noida, 6% by Ghaziabad, 3.6% by Gurugram and 1% by stubble burning. Former CPCB officer Dipankar Saha said that pollution may reduce in the coming days due to increase in wind speed.
AAP-BJP face to face on pollution
The political conflict regarding air pollution in Delhi is also at its peak. Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa made sharp allegations against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party and said that AAP is instigating the farmers of Punjab to burn stubble, so that Delhi’s air becomes more polluted. Countering this, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj described Sirsa as “illiterate” and said that Punjab’s AQI is only 156, which clearly shows that the reason for pollution is something else.
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