The air quality in Delhi has been in the "very poor" category for the sixth consecutive day, with an AQI of 351 recorded on November 2 morning. Delhi residents woke up to a hazy morning, with the temperature dropping to 16.3 degrees Celsius. At 3 pm, the city's AQI shot up to 378.
An official from the India Meteorological Department reported that visibility was reduced to just 500 metres at the Safdarjung Observatory around 7 am, gradually improving to 800 metres as temperatures increased during the day.
The 24-hour average AQI was 364 on Wednesday, 359 on Tuesday, 347 on Monday, 325 on Sunday, 304 on Saturday, and 261 on Friday.
Scientists have warned of a spike in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR over the next two weeks. This is concerning as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in many areas has already breached the 400-mark to enter the severe category.
Several areas within the city, including Punjabi Bagh (439), Dwarka Sector-8 (420), Jahangirpuri (403), Rohini (422), Narela (422), Wazirpur (406), Bawana (432), Mundka (439), Anand Vihar (452) and New Moti Bagh (406), recorded 'severe' air quality.
To mitigate pollution, water was sprinkled through anti-smog guns in the Anand Vihar area. News agency ANI shared visuals of the same on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Also read: A Delhi-Mumbai story: Which city's air quality is worse?
According to data from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pune, the transport sector of the city and emissions from other parts of the National Capital Region have contributed the most to the PM 2.5 level over the past two days.
On Wednesday at 4 pm, the overall AQI reading was 364, which is the highest this season and the fifth consecutive day of deteriorating air quality. Despite favourable wind conditions and lower contributions from farm fires compared to previous years, Delhi's air quality has worsened this year.
The smoky haze shrouding Delhi thickened on Thursday, obscuring the skyline and hiding the sun, due to a surge in farm fires and unfavourable weather conditions, has prompted doctors to issue warnings about breathing issues being aggravated.
Last year, on November 1, pollution levels reached the severe zone with an AQI of 424. In 2021, the AQI on the same date was 281 (poor), whereas in 2020, it was 364 (very poor).
The Air Quality Index (AQI) scale classifies air quality into six categories: good (0-50), satisfactory (51-100), moderate (101-200), poor (201-300), very poor (301-400), and severe (401-500). If AQI goes beyond 500, it is labeled as "severe plus."
Recently, the Delhi High Court has urged the Forest Department to take urgent steps to improve air quality in the National Capital. The court asked the department to treat this issue as a top priority and take action on a war footing.
The Delhi BJP president, Virendra Sachdeva, criticised the AAP government for not taking adequate measures to control air pollution. Sachdeva emphasised that people in Delhi were suffering from respiratory diseases, yet the government was not taking their responsibility seriously.
The air quality in Mumbai was reported to be moderate on Thursday morning, with AQI levels at 160. The city's pollution level has remained in the moderate category over the past few days. According to data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board, Mulund West in the eastern suburbs recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 232, followed by Colaba (226), Chembur and Bandra East (both 222), Sion (218), and BKC (201).
The Bombay High Court has observed that authorities have not taken any steps to create health advisories or awareness among citizens about the harmful levels of Air Quality Index (AQI) currently present in the city. A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor made this observation in its order while taking suo motu cognisance of the air pollution in Mumbai.
In this regard, the bench issued a notice to the Maharashtra government, the Union government, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Tuesday, seeking to know what measures have been taken to tackle the problem.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said it has asked the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Tata Power and a few other companies to cut down their production by 50 percent with an aim to curb pollution.
(With inputs from agencies)
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