Delhi’s air quality improves but remains ‘very poor’

The air quality in the national capital reached ‘very poor’ category registering an air quality index (AQI) of 340 on Saturday morning, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) India.

There has been a slight improvement as compared to the ‘severe’ category AQI of 405 recorded on Friday evening due to favourable weather conditions that marked the 12th day this month that Delhiites had to endure severe or near-severe air quality levels.

The slight improvement in the air quality index provided a respite to the residents, who still grappled with a thick, hazardous haze enveloping the city.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) observed on Friday that several states with deteriorating air quality had not fully complied with its earlier directive for immediate remedial action. The tribunal had previously issued notices to the chief secretaries of multiple states, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, and Jharkhand, following the Central Pollution Control Board’s online air quality bulletins.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) categorises its measures into four stages based on the AQI: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450).

Here are the latest updates on Delhi pollution:

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai urged the Centre on Friday to step in and address the city’s worsening air quality amid mounting concerns about high pollution levels. Earlier, on Thursday, Rai said a 6-member special task force has been formed, under the leadership of the Environment Special Secretary for proper implementation and monitoring of GRAP rules.

The persistent causes behind this pollution crisis remained largely unchanged with— calm winds, low temperatures, and smoke from farm fires. These factors combined to create a dense haze, which began to dissipate late Friday afternoon as the wind direction shifted, reducing the impact of the farm fires.

Odd-Even policy: Gopal Rai on Wednesday said that a decision on implementing odd-even rules or artificial rain would be made after observing the capital’s pollution levels in the coming days. The odd-even rule was supposed to be implemented from November 13, but was put on hold after the Supreme Court raised questions over the efficacy of the odd-even scheme which reduces the number of cars on the road as cars with registration numbers ending in odd are allowed to ply on odd dates and same with even.

However, on-the-ground assessments during spot checks conducted by Hindustan Times on Friday revealed alarming shortcomings. Several areas lacked proper enforcement and seemed oblivious to the fact that the national capital was in the midst of a health emergency.

Reflecting on visibility, an IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said, “Visibility was down to around 300 metres at Safdarjung at 7am and around 500 metres at Palam, but we saw a significant improvement during the day, when the wind direction changed. The wind direction, which had been northwesterly till 12 pm, then became easterly and by 4 pm, visibility had improved to around 3,000 metres, the highest we have seen since the spell of rain seen last week.”

The meteorological department’s forecast indicates that easterly winds will prevail for the next three days. However, substantial relief is anticipated only from November 21, with the arrival of strong winds reaching up to 15 km/h.