Delhiites still gasping for breath as air quality remains ‘very poor’; ‘Red Light On, Gadi Off’ campaign restarts

The Delhi air quality does not seem to improve even after taking all possible measures to cut down the pollutants.

The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday morning with AQI at 355, as per SAFAR. The temperature in Delhi however remained in the normal range.

PM2.5 particles remained the dominant pollutant in several areas of the national capital. The concentration of PM2.5 particles stood at 383 in Delhi University (North Campus) area, 348 in Pusa, 370 in Mathura Road, 344 in Lodhi Road, 350 in Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3), 349 in IIT Delhi, and 337 in Ayanagar, according to the Centre-run pollution monitoring system.

The condition in adjoining Noida city was no better with poisonous air and concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 particles clocked at 499 (severe category) and 386 (very poor category) respectively. The quality of air was comparatively better in Haryana’s Gurugram where the concentration of PM2.5 particles was recorded at 303 (very poor category) and PM10 at 138 (moderate category).

An AQI reading between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Friday launched the second phase of its ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign. The basic idea behind this campaign is to cut down vehicular emissions, in order to improve the city’s air quality. The campaign was first launched by the government in 2020

In view of the alarming levels of air pollution, the Delhi government Transport department has asked motorists to get colour-coded fuel stickers for their vehicles. The display of chromium-based hologram stickers on all vehicles registered in NCT of Delhi are mandatory as per a Supreme Court order and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, said a notice issued by the department on Friday.