A day after the grand Dussehra celebrations, Delhi’s air quality was recorded in the poor category. As per the monitoring agencies, the air quality graph is unlikely to see major improvement in the next few days.

The city's average air quality index (AQI) stood at 238 at 10 am, worsening from 220 at 4 pm on Tuesday. It must be noted that the air quality has dropped for the third consecutive day.

News agency ANI shared visuals of Wednesday morning from different parts of Delhi on social media platform X and mentioned, “National capital's overall air quality stands at 190 in the 'Moderate' category as per SAFAR-India.”

#WATCH | National capital's overall air quality stands at 190 in the 'Moderate' category as per SAFAR-India.

(Visuals from Kashmere Gate ISBT) pic.twitter.com/pSMewg63oF— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2023

The air quality in the Delhi University area was 273, while at the Pusa Campus, it was 128. At IIT Delhi, the AQI was 173, in the Airport area 211, Mathura Road 152, and Lodhi Road 149. However, in Noida and Gurugram, the AQI was slightly on the higher side at 218 and 169, respectively.

There has been a significant decline in stubble-burning cases as well. Dr Wazir Singh, Karnal Deputy Director of Agriculture, said on Monday that only 48 cases of stubble burning have been reported so far, compared to the previous year’s 140.

Stubble burning is a major contributor to air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region during the winter months. The stubble-burning smoke contains harmful pollutants such as particulate matter or PM, Carbon Monoxide, and Nitrogen Oxides. Hence, Dr Singh highlighted the efforts by the administration to educate the farmers and create awareness around sustainable agricultural practices.

Besides the control over stubble burning, the Commission of Air Quality Management sub-committee on Saturday decided to implement the Stage II Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the Delhi-NCR region. The measures, under the GRAP-II, included prohibiting the use of coal and wood-burning stoves, enhancing the use of CNG and electric buses, and conducting a routine road cleaning and wetting to avoid dust blowing into the air.

Additionally, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced 40 additional trips on the weekdays starting today, October 25 to improve the frequency and availability of the metro in the city. DMRC shared on X, “As part of the various measures being adopted by the Delhi government to combat pollution under GRAP-II stage, DMRC will run 40 additional train trips on weekdays (Monday to Friday) across its network starting Wednesday ie., 25.10.2023.”

As part of the various measures being adopted by the Delhi government to combat pollution under GRAP-II stage, DMRC will run 40 additional train trips on weekdays (Mon-Fri) across its network starting Wednesday i.e, 25.10.2023.

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) October 24, 2023

Adding to the thread, the DMRC administration also wrote, “This has been planned to intensify the use of public transport among passengers across Delhi-NCR. Usually, over 4300 trips are performed by Delhi Metro trains every day.”

Meanwhile, the air quality in Mumbai continues to remain ‘moderate’. The overall Air Quality Index in Mumbai was recorded at 132 on Tuesday.

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Overall air quality in Mumbai in 'Moderate' category with the AQI at 132 as per SAFAR-India.

Visuals from Bandra Reclamation area in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/zp4EBOhiit— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2023

According to the SAFAR, besides the overall AQI of 132, areas like Malad recorded an AQI of 156, Navi Mumbai 180, Colaba 149, and Mazgaon 125.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)