Despite Supreme Court’s ban on firecracker sale, Delhi on Friday woke up to a rather hazy morning covered in a blanket of smog. But despite the polluted air, the slightly better pollution level as well as the weather condition might bring some solace to Delhiites.
In the coming weeks, officials explained, steps will be taken to combat air pollution level. The MeT department reported that the visibility at 8:30 am was 500m and there was a gradual improvement later. According to an official, ” Mist and shallow fog were seen at many places in the morning. The smoke from Diwali festivities on Thursday night added to the fall in visibility level.” Indian Express reported that the visibility improved to 1,500 m at 11.30 am.
The system of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that the air quality will be in the severe category even on Saturday when the PM 2.5 levels are expected to be 318 micrograms per cubic metre. However, SAFAR added that the air quality from Sunday will be relatively cleaner with favourable meteorological conditions which are helping prevent the smoke-filled air — due to crop burning from the agricultural belt of Haryana and Punjab — from entering the national capital.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) is empowered to enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to combat air pollution in Delhi-NCR. Measures under the GRAP’s ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories, which include a ban on diesel generator sets, came into effect on October 17 and they will remain in force till March 15.