NEW DELHI: Faced with dangerous levels of air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government has decided to implement its odd-even formula for vehicles starting from November 13 till November 20. The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 421 on Monday, a marginal improvement from 454 on Sunday, even as a toxic haze persisted over the city sky for the seventh consecutive day.
Several cities in neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have also reported hazardous air quality. Neighbouring Ghaziabad (391), Gurugram (373), Noida (384), Greater Noida (420), and Faridabad (412) also reported hazardous air quality.
The figures were 30-40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organization According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR, the region is likely to experience severe air quality for another 5-6 days. The Delhi government’s decision to resort to odd-even vehicle plying came following a meeting on pollution control in which Arvind Kejriwal also participated.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the city government was taking all measures to handle the situation following the fourth and final stage of GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) after the air quality fell in the ‘severe plus’ category. According to the odd-even vehicle plan, on Odd days, only vehicles with licence plates ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 will be allowed to operate, and on even days, vehicles ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 will be allowed.
A detailed action plan will be developed in collaboration with relevant departments, including transport and traffic police, during a meeting on Tuesday. Rai said city schools up to the 5th grade have already been ordered closed until November 10. Now, classes for the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades will also remain closed until November 10. Board exams for the 10th and 12th grades will continue as scheduled.
Most farm fires reported from Mann’s home dist
Chandigarh: Punjab on Monday recorded 2,060 farm fires, raising the total number of such incidents in the state this season to 19,463, as per data from the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. Sangrur, the home district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, reported the highest number of such cases at 509.
The major farm fire incidents are reported from the Malwa region of Punjab, where the AQI ranged from poor to very poor. Out of 23 districts in the state, only 6 have air quality monitoring stations. In neighboring Haryana, the AQI ranged from severe to very poor.