Delhi air pollution surpasses WHO health limit by 100 times

Delhi’s air quality further deteriorated to severe levels on Friday, enveloping the city in a thick, toxic smog, signalling the onset of an annual environmental crisis for the national capital. The air quality index in Delhi almost reached 500, which is the highest level on the scale, surpassing the healthy limit set by the World Health Organization by 100 times. The city’s air quality had deteriorated over the past week due to a significant increase in farmers in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab burning their fields during the crop planting season. The situation was exacerbated by winds that carried these pollutants into Delhi and a decrease in temperatures that trapped the particulate matter. The government has ordered for closure of schools, and non-essential construction activities were prohibited in the city. On Sunday, Punjab recorded a 740% surge in farm fires, with more than a thousand incidents reported in a single day. Other contributing factors to the city’s pollution include vehicle emissions, ongoing construction activities, and the incineration of waste materials at disposal sites. Concerned over the situation, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor has called for a meeting with CM Arvind Kejriwal and Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday. The Delhi government and other agencies have taken measures including invoking stage III of the pollution control plan, deploying anti-smog guns and re-launching the ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ campaign. According to a Delhi government official, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage 3 has been implemented in the national capital with a complete ban on construction or demolition activities. The Centre’s pollution control panel invoked the GRAP III on Thursday, directing a halt on non-essential construction work, stone crushing and mining in Delhi-NCR. Under this stage, restrictions are also imposed on the operation of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar. The Delhi administration, which has stepped up measures to tackle the pollution menace, has deployed anti-smog guns in several places such as Anand Vihar, Kashmiri Gate ISBT, ITO, Pusa Road, Jahangirpuri, Narela Industrial area, and Burari Crossing, officials said.