New Delhi, November 8: The air quality in Delhi and its neighboring areas deteriorated to the severe category once again on Wednesday morning, with one-third of the pollution in the national capital attributed to smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in nearby states.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city stood at 421, a significant decline from 395 on Tuesday at 4 pm. The concentration of PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of deeply affecting the respiratory system and causing health problems, exceeded the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic meter by seven to eight times in the capital. It was 30 to 40 times higher than the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Several cities across the Indo-Gangetic plains reported hazardous air quality levels. Neighboring areas, including Ghaziabad (382), Gurugram (370), Noida (348), Greater Noida (474), and Faridabad (396), also recorded hazardous air quality.
Data from the Decision Support System, a model-based framework for identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi, revealed that stubble burning in neighboring states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, contributed to 37 percent of the air pollution in Delhi on Tuesday. This is expected to be around 33 percent on Wednesday.
The Delhi government recently announced the return of the odd-even scheme after four years, anticipating further deterioration in air quality after Diwali. The scheme, in which cars are allowed to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, will be in effect from November 13 to November 20.
To safeguard the health of school children, the government also decided to suspend in-person classes in all schools, except for students in grades X and XII preparing for board exams, until November 10.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR, the region is expected to experience severe air quality for another five to six days.
Medical professionals have cautioned that breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a day. Prolonged exposure to high pollution levels can cause or worsen respiratory issues such as asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), significantly raising the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Stringent restrictions outlined in the final stage of the Central government’s air pollution control plan for Delhi-NCR, known as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), have been enforced in the city. These restrictions, under stage IV of GRAP, include a ban on all construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into the capital.
Unfavorable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy straw burning, firecrackers, and other local pollution sources, contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during the winter months.
According to an analysis by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the capital experiences peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when the number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana increases.
Delhi’s air quality consistently ranks among the worst in the world’s capital cities. A report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) in August indicated that air pollution is reducing life expectancy by nearly 12 years in Delhi.
