Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), highlighted that while stubble burning contributes to 25% of Delhi's air pollution, the remaining 75% stems from vehicular emissions. Despite efforts to phase out older vehicles and introduce CNG technology, the sheer number of vehicles on the road continues to undermine these improvements.

"Parali or stubble burning is currently contributing about 25% to the air pollution problem in Delhi but what about the rest of the 75% of the problem which we are yet to address. In Delhi vehicles have emerged as the top contributor to pollution. Even though we have done quite a bit about phasing out old vehicles, bringing CNG in, but now we have to deal with the sheer number of vehicles on the road which is undercutting all the technology improvements that have happened so far. So the agenda now has to be zero emission. The problem is just not about incremental improvement in our emission control but to fundamentally address it and eliminate it at the source of the problem," Roychowdhury said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

In the Delhi-NCR region, air pollution persists in the 'hazardous' category. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced the implementation of the odd-even policy from November 13-20 and a work-from-home policy for 50% of government staff.

The Supreme Court too expressed its concern about deteriorating air quality and ordered Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to halt crop burning immediately.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) noted a substantial increase in pollution levels between November 1 and November 5, coinciding with a surge in stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) reported 4,160 farm fires in northern India, exacerbating the pollution crisis in Delhi.

In Mumbai, air quality remained unhealthy, with several areas reporting an air quality index (AQI) above 200 on Tuesday morning. The overall AQI in the city stood at 145, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.

To address rising pollution levels, the Bombay High Court imposed restrictions on construction activities and firecracker bursting. The court temporarily banned construction activities and limited firecracker bursting to the hours between 7 pm and 10 pm.

Watch the accompanying video for the entire discussion.

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Nov 7, 2023 7:07 PM IST