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New Delhi: Delhiites woke up this morning to clear skies and plenty of sunshine on Sunday (November 12) but air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the “poor” category on Diwali day. Several areas in New Delhi saw AQI in the poor category while some areas felt some relief with the index falling under the ‘Moderate’ category. The city had seen a significant drop of AQI from ‘Severe’ for nearly one week to ‘Very Poor’ on November 10. The air quality further improved yesterday into the ‘Poor’ category which remained stagnant today.
AQI in parts of Delhi
The city has witnessed an improvement on Diwali day as compared to previous days when the air quality had been in “severe” category. The Air Quality Index at Anand Vihar was 267, at RK Puram 241, in Punjabi Bagh at 233 and in ITO at 227, according to Central Pollution Control Board. Various areas in the city recorded AQI between 200 to 250 while some areas saw between 250 and 300. Some also experienced ‘Moderate’ air quality.
Light rain and favorable wind speed on Friday helped disperse pollutants in the air, bringing the air quality down from “severe” to “poor” category. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, 401 and 450 “severe” and above 450 “severe plus”.
The India Meteorological Department had earlier predicted marginal improvement in the air quality just ahead of Diwali, owing to favourable meteorological conditions, including light rain, under the influence of a western disturbance.
Situation improves after rain and Supreme Court’s rap
The situation in the national capital region improved significantly after rain lashed the city in the early hours of Friday which brought down the air quality significantly from the persistent ‘Severe’ category to the ‘Very Poor’ category on the same day. While hearing the matter related to the implementation of the odd-even scheme in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Friday said that the pollution levels “must come down” and it “cannot await tomorrow”.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul referred to the rain in the national capital region in the early hours of Friday and said that the people have to pray only, sometimes wind comes and helps, and sometimes rains. “God may have heard the prayers of people and intervened, no thanks to the government,” Justice Kaul said.
Delhi government announces ‘Diya Jalao, Patakhe nahi’ campaign
The Delhi government on Friday declared the ‘Diya Jalao, Patakhe nahi’ campaign in the capital city.
“Today, due to the rain and wind, pollution has reduced significantly. People of nearby cities are requested to light the lamps and distribute sweets during Diwali, but do not burst firecrackers. We want the pollution level to remain good even on the next day of Diwali. The campaign of ‘Diya Jalao, Patakhe nahi’ is starting from today,” Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said.
