NEW DELHI: Desperately breathless and beyond redemption in the immediate future — Delhi’s air quality plummeted to alarming levels on Monday, leaving people gasping with itchy eyes and sore throats as the Air Quality Index stood at 494, the second-worst in the last six years.
With the Air Quality Index (AQI) entering the ‘severe plus’ category and choking the national capital, the Supreme Court directed all Delhi-NCR states to immediately set up teams to strictly enforce anti-pollution GRAP 4 restrictions, making it clear that the curbs will continue till further orders.
The court asserted that it is the constitutional duty of all states to ensure all citizens live in a pollution-free environment. “We make it clear that till further orders are passed by this court, the implementation of stage 4 of GRAP will continue even if the AQI level drops below 450,” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said as it sought compliance reports from Delhi-NCR states and the Centre by Thursday.
It also faulted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for “delaying” the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and said it followed a “wrong” approach.
Doctors raised concerns about health risks, cautioning that the toxic air can harm not just vulnerable groups but also healthy individuals.
The air quality data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that Delhi’s average AQI for November has increased steadily over the past two years.
This year, the city recorded an average AQI of 381 in the first 18 days of November compared to 377 during the same period last year. The last time pollution levels soared to such heights was in 2021, when the average AQI reached 383.
However, this November marks the first time in the past five years that pollution levels have remained above 300 every single day. Among the 38 functional air quality monitoring stations in Delhi, the worst pollution was reported in Dwarka and Najafgarh with an AQI of 500 as of 11 am on Monday.
The CPCB data showed that the hourly average PM2.5 and PM10 levels have been on a sharp rise since Sunday noon. The average PM2.5 level was 354 micrograms per cubic metre — more than 20 times the standard prescribed by the WHO.
Worst locations with AQI above 500
Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Dwarka Sector 8, Jahangirpuri, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Mundka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar and Punjabi Bagh
Discontinue physical classes for Class X, XII
The Directorate of Education stated that all govt, govt-aided, private recognised, MCD and NDMC schools are directed to discontinue physical classes for all classes including class X & XII until further orders.
Record farm fires reported in Punjab
With 1,251 farm fire incidents, Punjab on Monday reported the highest stubble burning cases this season. This year, the state has recorded 9,655 such cases, as per data with the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
Sources said the PPCB is facing allegations of underreporting farm fire incidents. Many farmers were setting paddy residue on fire post afternoon, dodging satellite monitoring, sources said. As the window for the Rabi crop — wheat — is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear the crop residue for sowing a new crop.