Lockdown in Delhi? AAP government to submit proposal today as air quality remains ‘very poor’

People residing in Delhi still don’t have the luxury to have a get a breath of fresh air as the air quality of the national capital, despite witnessing a small improvement, still dwindles in the ‘very poor’ category because of the significant increase in pollution over the past 10 days.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality index (AQI) is still poor, as the city stays enveloped by a layer of smoke. Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) at 6:20 AM was at 318, as per SAFAR.

It was noted that the air quality in Delhi University’s North Campus area was at 333, the Mathura road reported an AQI of 329, and Pusa road recorded an AQI of 313 while IIT Delhi of 302. The 24-hour average air quality index of Delhi stood at 330 on Sunday.

The average AQI of Delhi was much worse on Saturday, with the number standing at a whopping 437. The main reason behind the increased AQI of Delhi is expected to be the emissions from the farm fires in Haryana and Punjab, which have now dropped significantly.

Keeping in mind the rise in pollution levels and the health threat it poses, the Delhi government has announced the closure of educational institutes in the national capital, except for those where exams are being conducted. Government employees have also been asked to work from home during this time.

Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai had announced that the officials will be submitting a lockdown proposal to the Supreme Court on November 15 to curb the pollution levels in the city. Supreme Court had earlier termed the rise in pollution as an “emergency situation” and had suggested a lockdown in Delhi.

Though Delhi has witnessed a small improvement in the air quality over the last couple of days, experts have said that the same is expected to deteriorate further from Tuesday this week due to the calm wind conditions in the city.