New Delhi, Nov 9 : Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has initiated a meeting with all ministers to address the persistent air pollution issue in the national capital, spanning over two weeks.
Scheduled to occur at the Delhi Secretariat at 12:30 pm, the meeting aims to strategize and discuss measures to combat the escalating air pollution crisis.
On Thursday morning, the air quality in Delhi was categorized as ‘severe,’ with a slight improvement anticipated just before Diwali, owing to favorable meteorological conditions. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for the city stood at 420 at 8 am, showing a marginal improvement from 426 at 4 pm on Wednesday. The AQI map by the Central Pollution Control Board depicted clusters of red dots (indicating hazardous air quality) across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Neighboring cities, including Ghaziabad (369), Gurugram (396), Noida (394), Greater Noida (450), and Faridabad (413), also reported very poor air quality.
Officials from the India Meteorological Department noted that a change in wind direction from northwest to southeast, attributed to a fresh western disturbance affecting northwest India, could help decrease the contribution of smoke from stubble burning. However, slow wind speed may counteract this effect.
Once the western disturbance passes, the wind speed is expected to increase from the current 5-6 kmph to around 15 kmph on November 11. This change is anticipated to aid in dispersing pollutants ahead of Diwali, according to officials.
