Delhi woke up breathing pollution as a thick layer of smog veiled the city on Thursday morning, with air quality plummeting to ‘severe’ levels across various parts of the city, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Thursday marks the seventh ‘severe’ air day this month in the national capital.
The air quality at 7 am in Bawana was recorded at 442, RK Puram at 418, Jahangirpuri at 441, Dwarka at 416, Alipur at 415, Anand Vihar and ITO both at 412 and near the Delhi airport, the AQI stood at 401, as ANI reported.
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Visuals from India Gate showed individuals exercising while wearing masks amidst the hazy conditions. An athlete expressed struggles with the polluted air, stating, “I’m an athlete, but I find it difficult to breathe in this pollution. I train outdoors, and I find it difficult to breathe,” he said.
Harshit Gupta, a visitor from Uttar Pradesh, highlighted the urgent need for government intervention, saying,”I have come from UP; breathing in Delhi feels like inhaling smoke. The government here must see to it. Why is this happening? Some solutions need to be found. We’re coming from faraway places and if this is the situation in Delhi, our health will surely deteriorate,” he said.
A study analysing PM 2.5 data for 11 capital cities revealed that nine out of 11 state capitals experienced increased pollution in the initial 12 hours post-Diwali celebrations compared to the previous year.
On Wednesday, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced that the government is closely monitoring pollution levels. Contingency plans, such as artificial rain and the odd-even traffic scheme, might be implemented if the situation escalates to the ‘Severe Plus’ category.
“The decision will be made based on observations over the next two to three days,” he said.
“We will reach this decision (artificial rain and the implementation of odd-even) after observing the situation for the next two to three days. If the pollution escalates to the ‘Severe’ plus category, measures will be implemented to mitigate it,” Gopal Rai said.
“Preparations are being made at various places in Delhi for Chhath Puja; this time also, Chhath Puja will be organised at more than 1000 places… Teams have started work regarding that (cleaning of the River Yamuna) also,” the minister added The pollution control measures under stage four of the GRAP are currently underway in the national capital.
(With ANI Inputs)
