NEW DELHI: A slight fall in the maximum temperature and wind velocity over the past 24 hours has put many places in Delhi in the ‘Severe’ category, with 11 of the 39 monitoring stations in the capital on Monday recording AQI of over 400.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), by 7 am, multiple monitoring stations recorded AQI levels of above 400, including Anand Vihar (433), Wazirpur (414), Jahangirpuri (413), Rohini (409), and Punjabi Bagh (404).
As per the SAFAR portal, the wind speed is expected to improve from Tuesday onwards. However, it noted that the meteorological conditions are likely to be unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
“The maximum and minimum temperature over Delhi is in the range of 31-33°C and 13-18°C respectively. The maximum temperature was above normal by 2 – 3°C and the minimum temperature was above normal by 1 – 2°C over some places in the region. Mainly clear sky condition with predominant surface wind from multiple directions, with wind speed reaching 4–8 kmph, prevailed during daytime and calm winds during the night,” a forecast from SAFAR read.
The predominant surface wind speed remained at 4-8 kmph on Monday. However, according to the forecast, the wind speed will improve to 6-12 kmph on Tuesday and 15_55 kmph on Wednesday.
“The air quality is likely to remain in ‘Very Poor’ to ‘Severe category’ till Thursday,” the SAFAR bulletin read further.
Steps taken to combat pollution to be reviewed: Rai
Seeing the deteriorating air quality in the capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has scheduled a review meeting at the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday to review the actions taken by relevant departments to combat pollution.
He stated that the government has resolved about 88% of the pollution-related complaints received via the Green Delhi app. Out of 81,418 complaints filed through the app, 71,558 have been resolved. “Any Delhi resident can report pollution through the Green Delhi app,” he said.
Rai stated, “The teams in the Green War room are closely monitoring all recorded data from the anti-road dust campaign, based on which deployed teams from all departments are taking appropriate actions.”
The minister mentioned that, to address the issue of pollution in the winter season, a Winter Action Plan based on 21 focus points was announced by the government on September 25. “The concerned departments are working diligently to implement it on the ground. A meeting with all the relevant departments has been scheduled for tomorrow to review the progress,” he said.
Rai further added that the government is conducting several campaigns to reduce pollution, including the anti-dust campaign, bio-decomposer spraying, tree plantation drives and an awareness campaign about firecrackers.