Odd-even comes into force; Delhi-NCR continues to reel under ‘severe’ air pollution

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Delhi implemented the ‘odd-even’ system starting from 8.00 am on November 4 to help curb pollution in the national capital.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) at ITO was at 434 (severe) on November 4 morning, according to the date from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Under the traffic rationing system, private vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd digit will be allowed to run on roads on odd dates. Those with even numbers will be allowed on even dates.

Being implemented for the third time, the scheme is scheduled to end on November 15. However, it could be extended if required.

Odd-even will enforced on all days from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, except November 10, which happens to be a Sunday. These restrictions also apply to vehicles which were registered outside Delhi and to those running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Electric vehicles (EVs), two-wheelers, vehicles being used for medical emergencies and those carrying children in school uniform are exempted from the odd-even scheme.

VIP cars, women-only vehicles with children aged up to 12 years and vehicles being used by physically-disabled persons are also exempted.

Vehicles, including those of the President, Prime Minister, emergency and enforcement vehicles, have been exempted. However, vehicles of the Delhi Chief Minister and ministers will not be exempted.

Also read | Will violate odd-even rule as it is Kejriwal govt’s 'election stunt': BJP’s Vijay Goel

Violations of the odd-even rule will invite a fine of Rs 4,000.

All schools, up to Class 12, will be closed in NCR till November 5 due to rising pollution.

In an early morning tweet in Hindi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "Namaste Delhi, odd-even is starting from today to reduce pollution. Please do follow it for yourself, your family, kids and your breath. Share cars. It will strengthen friendship, form relations, save petrol and pollution. Delhi will show it again."

Measures

More than 600 teams of the Delhi Traffic Police and the transport and revenue departments have been deployed to ensure compliance. Additionally, about 5,000 civil defence volunteers have been trained to spread awareness.

Delhi Metro, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses will be running additional services till November 15, to help ease the load.

Authorities have asked cab-hailing companies such as Ola and Uber to not apply surge pricing during the odd-even days.

Delhi: A layer of smog blankets the area around Rajpath, this morning. pic.twitter.com/ZWWFilPeI8

— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2019

What happened on November 3

The pollution level in the National Capital Region (NCR) peaked to a three-year high on November 3 even as authorities claimed of increased checks and curbing measures.

The 24-hour average AQI in the national capital stood at 494 at 4.00 pm on November 3 - the highest since November 6, 2016 when it was at 497, according to the data from the CPCB.

AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category.

As many as 37 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport. Over 250 departures and 300 arrivals were delayed due to poor visibility caused by heavy smog.

The Centre reviewed the situation in Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Punjab. It asked these states to curb air pollution. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba was tasked with monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

Satellite images show large parts of North India, covering Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and also some parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal, blanketed under smog.

Mahesh Palawat, a senior scientist at Skymet Weather, told news agency PTI, "Wind speed increased significantly on Sunday. But the smog, due to high humidity after scattered rains, and a cloud cover didn't let sun rays reach the ground. As a result, the air near the ground remained cold and heavy."

Also read: Share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution down to 17% from 44%

Weather experts have said that it is unlikely that there would be any significant improvement in the situation unless there is rainfall. There are chances of rainfall on November 7-8 due to Cyclone Maha.

(With inputs from PTI)