NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality has once again plunged into the ‘severe’ category, with the 24-hour average AQI reaching 401 around 6 pm on Friday. According to the data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer App, out of 39 monitoring stations across the city, only 13 stations reported AQI levels below 400, while the remaining ones stood above 400 in the ‘severe’ category. Jahangirpuri recorded the highest AQI at 445.
The air quality, which was in the ‘severe’ and ‘severe plus’ category for nearly a week, had witnessed a slight improvement on Friday morning. The AQI with a reading of 371 was in the ‘very poor’ category. However, the situation worsened during the day.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday called for strict enforcement of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across all departments amid the city’s deteriorating air pollution. He has written to the Chief Secretary Dharmendra, urging personal oversight to make certain that the recent improvements in air quality are sustained.
“The AQI has shown some improvement in the last few days, but we must not allow our efforts to slow down or weaken,” Rai said in his letter to Dharmendra.
Some areas experienced AQI values ranging from 400 to 500. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 414. Other pollution hotspots included Sonia Vihar (401), Bawana (411), Dwarka Sector 8 (382), Mundka (402), Wazirpur (414) and Shadipur (402) among others. Delhi’s air quality was categorised as “severe” on Sunday, with the AQI reaching 450. In response, the CPCB invoked emergency measures under GRAP 4, which took effect on Monday morning and remain in force.
According to the CPCB data, Delhi was the most polluted city in the country on Friday, with Lucknow and Patna ranking second and third with AQI values of 367 and 249, respectively.
Rai stressed the need for strict implementation of GRAP guidelines, which include measures to restrict vehicular emissions, control construction dust and curb industrial pollution. He called for daily reports from all departments to track the progress of measures and identify areas needing more attention.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate fog and mist for the next seven days, with minimum temperatures expected to stay just above 10 degree Celsius.