The air quality in Delhi continues to remain in the ‘very poor’ category with the air quality index (AQI) in most parts of the city persisting above 300 levels on Tuesday. The national capital recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) of 323 at 6:30 AM on Tuesday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) data.

Several areas in Delhi recorded very poor air quality with AQI in Anand Vihar at 374, Lodhi Road at 315, Jahangirpuri at 399, and New Moti Bagh at 370.

Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi with an AQI of 419 at 5 PM on Monday, was the most polluted location, with the air quality falling into the ‘severe’ category. Bawana and Jahangirpuri followed closely with AQIs of 415 and 404, respectively. Wazirpur, with AQI at 400, reached the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category.

An AQI ranging from 301 to 400 is considered ‘very poor,’ while above 400 levels are categorised as ‘severe’.

The deterioration in air quality is not limited to Delhi alone, as neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) areas, including Ghaziabad (321), Gurugram (261), Greater Noida (318), Noida (331), and Faridabad (329), also experienced a decline.

Despite a slight improvement a day earlier, Delhi’s air quality, measured at 348 on Monday at 4 pm, worsened compared to previous days. The 24-hour average AQI was 301 on Sunday, 319 on Saturday, 405 on Friday, and 419 on Thursday.

The concerning levels are exacerbated by stubble-burning instances in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, recording 634, 102 and 38 cases, respectively, on Monday, according to the report by the Times of India. North-westerly winds carrying smoke into Delhi have further contributed to the crisis. According to the forecasting body under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, farm fires contributed to 3.17% of Delhi’s PM 2.5 on Monday morning, rising to 14% at 4 pm, as per a real-time source apportionment study conducted by IIT-Kanpur.

Meanwhile, a division bench of the Supreme Court directed the governments of Delhi and Punjab to take action against stubble burning.

The Supreme Court also questioned why the Punjab government hasn’t made crop residue management entirely cost-free. According to ANI, the division bench of Justices SK Kaul and S Dhulia emphasised the need to hear farmers’ perspectives, stating that farmers are unfairly ‘being made villains.’ The court suggested involving farmers in discussions and encouraged Punjab to adopt financial incentives similar to Haryana, emphasising the state’s duty to fund machinery for economically disadvantaged farmers.

Air pollution in Delhi-NCR: Supreme Court asks why doesn’t the Punjab government make the process of crop residue 100% free? To burn it, all the farmer needs to do is light a matchstick. Machine for the management of crop residue to farmers is not everything. Even if machine is… pic.twitter.com/J8oLDKNbMA

— ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2023

The SC bench was hearing a batch of petitions on worsening air pollution in Delhi.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)