New Delhi air quality continues to remain in the 'poor' category

The poor air quality in New Delhi continued on Monday morning, as the AQI is at 355 with PM2.5 being the dominant pollutant, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). The poor quality in the air has been a recurring problem in the National Capital.

READ: SC-mandated EPCA Declares Public Health Emergency In Delhi-NCR

'Poor air quality'

Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous.

Across the city, the quality continued to be poor. At Ashok Vihar and Jahangirpuri, the AQI was 391 at 7:30 am. In Rohini, it was 430, near Pusa, it was 385. The AQI near Sirifort, Mundka, and DTU stood at 375, 376 and 381 respectively.

The continuous issue of pollution has caught the attention of all citizens and was taken up by the Supreme Court who ordered the Delhi Government, Union Government and the nearby State Governments of Punjab and Haryana to take account of all actions and ensure that pollution decreases. 

READ: NGT Directs Environment Ministry To Ensure Green Cover Along Highways

A few weeks ago, a Supreme Court-mandated panel had declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region. Various orders were issued to ensure that the pollution levels fall in the short term. It included the banning of all construction activities, banning the functioning of stone crushers and hot mix plants which cause dust pollution, the closing of brick kilns, etc. 

Taking cognizance of the situation, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar imposed a complete ban on plying of state-owned vehicles which were more than 15 years old. Mandatory fresh pollution checks were also ordered for auto-rickshaws in view of reports that many three-wheelers ran on kerosene and emitted copious fumes.

READ: Bihar Bans 15 Yr-old Commercial Vehicles In Patna Post-pollution Meet

READ: Gautam Gambhir Faces AAP Flak For Skipping Pollution Meet & Attending Indore Test

(with ANI inputs)