Delhi Pollution Updates: Air Quality Still 'Very Poor', Rain Likely; Primary Schools Resume Classes Today

Delhi Pollution Updates: After slightly improving, Delhi’s air quality worsened on Tuesday and continues to remain in the ‘very poor’ category. The capital’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded as 329 on Wednesday, while air quality in surrounding areas worsened with AQI 380 in Noida and 336 in Gurugram.

The city’ 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) worsened from 354 on Monday to 372 on Tuesday evening and is forecast to become worse over the next two days due to unhelpful meteorological conditions. The AQI had been slightly better at 321 on Tuesday morning before worsening.

Meanwhile, primary schools in the city are set to reopen physical classes on Wednesday after being closed on Friday, November 4. The Delhi government on Monday lifted curbs including work from home for 50 percent government employees.

Latest updates:

• Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi in a press conference on Wednesday slammed the Kejriwal government in Delhi for inaction over the pollution issue. “Rs 1286.93 crore has been collected as environment cess in last seven years…they promised smog towers but there is only one and that is in fact not working in Delhi,” she said.

“When they(AAP) were not in Punjab, they used to blame Punjab and Haryana, but now when they are in Punjab, Haryana is responsible,” she added.

• Delhi’s AQI was in the ‘very poor’ category at 339 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, AQI is at 371 in Noida (UP) in ‘very poor’ category, 338 in Gurugram (Haryana) in ‘very poor’ category and 433 near Dhirpur in ‘severe’ category.

• Delhi’s air quality worsened on Tuesday evening, remaining ‘very poor’ with AQI 372 and a thick layer of smog shrouding the capital. However, several parts of the city recorded “severe” air quality, including Bawana (AQI 409), Jahangirpuri (419), Rohini (412), Vivek Vihar (412), Wazirpur (408) and Patparganj (401), as per Times of India.

• Generally cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain or drizzle are predicted on Wednesday. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Wednesday are likely to hover around 30 and 17 degrees Celsius.

• The Delhi government on Monday decided to reopen primary classes from November 9 and revoke the order asking 50 per cent of its staff to work from home in view of improvement in the city’s air quality over the last two days.

• Farm fires in Punjab dropped from 2,487 on Monday to 605 on Tuesday. Their share in Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution dipped from 14 per cent on Monday to 9 per cent on Tuesday, according to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and SAFAR.

• Air quality in parts of Punjab worsened too with a thick layer of smog covering Ludhiana and Bathinda on Tuesday.

• Solving Delhi’s air pollution problem is not impossible, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. “Solving Delhi’s pollution problem is little difficult but not impossible. If Central government, state government, municipal corporation and farmers make efforts together then we can solve the problem. We should forget politics and work together regarding it,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

(With inputs from PTI)

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