Number of ‘bad air’ days decreasing, claims CAQM
The steps include cracking down on polluting industries, diesel generator (DG) sets, dust management at construction sites, clamping down on polluting vehicles and regulating steps taken by state govt
Published: 08th March 2022 08:32 AM | Last Updated: 08th March 2022 08:32 AM | A+A A-
Every winter layers of fog containing pollutants envelop the national capital, causing health difficulties to the residents. (Photo | EPS)
NEW DELHI: The number of ‘bad air’ days in the national capital decreased over the past year and in the first two months of the current year in comparison to the last five years, as steps have been taken to curb emissions in Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining states said on Monday at the ‘Dialogue Towards Clean Air’, a two-day event being held on discussing strategies to mitigate air pollution in the region.
M M Kutty, chairperson, CAQM, on the inaugural day of the session, said that the steps taken by the task force under the commission in Delhi and satellite towns have resulted in a reduction in the number of ‘poor to severe’ category days in 2021 as well as in January-February this year and increase the number of ‘moderate to good’ category days during the same period.
The steps include cracking down on polluting industries, diesel generator (DG) sets, dust management at construction sites, clamping down on polluting vehicles and regulating steps taken by state governments to curb emissions.
He added that between December 2021 and January this year, the flying squads and teams of the CAQM have carried out nearly 5,000 inspections across Delhi-NCR. According to Kutty, last year a total of 169 days were recorded in the ‘poor to severe’ range, as compared to 184 in 2019, 206 in 2018, 213 in 2017 and 246 in 2016, while he did not cite figures for 2020.
On the other hand, data shows, the number of days in the ‘moderate to good’ zone saw a rise. Last year 197 such days were recorded, while it was 182 in 2019, 159 in 2018, 152 in 2017 and 180 in 2016.
During January–February this year, he said, the number of ‘poor to severe’ range days came down to 44, as compared to 56 last year, 57 in 2020 and 2019 while 53 in 2018, during the same period. The number of ‘moderate to good’ days increased to 15 this year as compared to two last year, three in 2020, two in 2019 and six in 2018.
