Silver lining: Delhi’s air quality a bit better, but stays in ‘poor’ category
NEW DELHI: The air quality in the national capital improved a little due to favourable meteorological conditions on Saturday. The overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was 299, which falls in the ‘poor’ category. Increased wind speed had helped in dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the air quality was “very poor” in 16 areas of the city and “poor” in 15 areas.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 is ‘poor’, 301 to 400 is ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 is considered ‘severe’.
The concentration of PM2.5 particles was recorded at 155 micrograms per cubic metre, and the PM10 level was 310. The improvement in air quality notwithstanding, pollution watchdog CPCB has issued show cause notices to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation for failing to control air polluting activities in areas under their jurisdiction. In the NCR region, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida had ‘very poor’ air quality, while Gurugram had ‘poor’ air.
In its notice to SDMC, the CPCB said that out of 866 complaints received by citizens and teams deployed by the pollution watchdog, only 200 had been resolved, 334 were being investigated and 332 had not been attended to.
The notice to EDMC said that of the 534 complaints received, only 133 had been resolved, 272 were being investigated and 129 had not been attended to.
CPCB boss speaks
CPCB chairman S P Singh Parihar said the Board had repeatedly urged the municipal bodies to open social media accounts to receive and address complaints of public.