Staff Report
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Indian capital Delhi’s air quality index, or AQI, has turned toxic and the concentration of cancer-causing pollution has increased to alarming levels, signaling that the denizens are once again inhaling hazardous air.
Pollution in Delhi
The air quality, which is currently in dark red zones in several locations in Delhi-NCR, is expected to deteriorate even worse over the next few days, according to the Centre’s air quality panel, CAQM. The article attributed low temperatures, quiet breezes, and thick fog to the air’s deterioration.
Now that coal use has been banned in the capital, the air quality panel has urged businesses to convert to cleaner fuels. Nevertheless, it is legal to use other polluting fuels like metallurgical coke and biomass.
Questions are now being raised over the effectiveness of the Commission for Air Quality Management’s Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) since school-aged children in the national capital continue to breathe harmful air throughout the school year.
After the air quality in Delhi-NCR improved, stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, which was in effect and prohibited non-essential construction and demolition work, was lifted.
In a ruling issued on January 4, the Centre’s air quality panel loosened the strict regulations, citing a forecast from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the India Meteorological Department.
Experts advise the government to consider a regional clean-up of the national capital even though the coal ban is a positive initiative.
