India / Delhi-NCR air breathless due to haze and smoke, AQI crossed 450

New Delhi : A layer of haze enveloped Delhi on Saturday morning and the air quality in the city inched near the 'severe' category amid unfavorable weather conditions. These adverse weather conditions include low temperatures and calm air and an increase in the incidence of stubble burning in Punjab. An official of the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) said officials may review the situation in the evening and take a decision on implementing anti-pollution measures under the third phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

These measures include ban on construction and demolition activities and BS3 (petrol) and BS4 (diesel) four wheelers except for essential projects in the National Capital Region (NCR). Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 398 (very poor) at 11 am, up from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (on Diwali).

Anand Vihar (454 AQI) remained the most polluted place in the capital. Wazirpur (439), Narela (423), Ashok Vihar (428), Vivek Vihar (427) and Jahangirpuri (438) were the monitoring stations where the air quality was recorded in the 'severe' category. The air quality in the neighboring cities of Ghaziabad (381), Noida (392), Greater Noida (398), Gurugram (360) and Faridabad (391) also touched the 'severe' category.

AQI between zero and 50 is 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 AQI between the two is considered 'severe'. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the concentration of the lung-damaging particulate matter PM 2.5 was above 400 micrograms per cubic meter in many areas at 11 a.m., nearly seven times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that there were slow winds during the night. The department said that there is a forecast of moderate speed (eight kilometers per hour) of winds during the day. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 15.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 31 degree Celsius.

SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, has predicted an increase in the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution in the coming days. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) on Friday reported 2,067 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab, the highest so far this season. On Friday, the institute had registered 124 and 34 cases of stubble burning in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh respectively.

A CAQM official said a decision on the implementation of restrictions under Phase III of GRAP is likely to be taken on Saturday evening. The official said that if the AQI becomes 'severe', the authorities will be asked to do away with construction and demolition, plumbing in the NCR, barring essential projects (such as railways, metro, airports, ISBTs, national security/defence-related projects of national importance), the official said. There is a need to ban polluting activities like wood works, interior decoration and electrical work.

Apart from this, ban can also be imposed on brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers and mining and related activities in NCR. The governments of the states which fall under the Delhi-National Capital Region can also ban BS3 (petrol) and BS4 (diesel) four wheelers under the third phase.