Air quality falls to 'poor' again, as stubble burning continues in Haryana
NEW DELHI: Pollution levels across Delhi-NCR pollution level spiked to 'poor' on Wednesday, as predicted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In a related development, the Haryana government said that stubble burning still exists in the state, though the number of cases is drastically lower than last year's.
"Delhi recorded 201 in the air quality index (AQI), which is 'poor', with PM 2.5 as the major pollutant found. Gurugram reported 292 air quality index which is poor close to very poor air quality," said an official of the CPCB.
An AQI in the range of 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'.
The heavy rain that lashed the Capital last week cleared the air of pollutants for some time, but with the wind changing its direction, pollutants are not being dispersed quikcly, leading to rising levels of particulate matter, the CPCB official said.
Meanwhile, according to reports, Haryana government has registered 93 cases against farmers for burning the crop residue to clear their fields this season.
Stubble burning is considered one of the major reasons of pollution in the Capital. In the recently published data on the Delhi pollution, the CPCB stated that the Capital has much lesser polluted days this year.
However, environmental bodies and experts observed that whatever is the situation, the Graded Response Action Plan must be implemented to control the pollution.
Keeping in mind the situation, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has already met the Lieutenant Gover and the Delhi government to discuss appropriate plans.
"The better days what we have seen was the effect of the Graded Response Action Plan by EPCA. This was the first time when various significant banns were imposed on the state thereafter we got such results," said Anumita Roy Choudhury, Executive director, research and advocacy, Centre of Science and Environment (CSE).
Meanwhile, US aeronautical agency NASA is all set to lend a helping hand to counter the air pollution menace in the upcoming winter season in Delhi-NCR.
According to Delhi officials, the 'speciated air pollution data' from NASA's Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) satellite will be used by Delhi researchers to analyse how the health impact of dust pollution differs from that of crop burning. The project is likely to be implemented by 2021.
