Page 10 - Air Pollution

Resign if you don't have a solution: BJP to CM Kejriwal on Delhi pollution

BJP leaders on Wednesday demanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's resignation over his alleged failure to control pollution in Delhi and claimed the city's air quality improved after Diwali. BJP MP and former Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari said the city's air quality index (AQI) levels were worse before Diwali. The AQI had improved after the festival, showing that Diwali is not to be blamed for pollution in Delhi, he said. "Before Diwali, the AQI was 330 and after Diwali this morning (Wednesday) it is 306. (This is) the benefits of bursting green crackers. So those who were blaming Diwali should now worry that if the pollution gets worse from now on then don't blame it on Diwali," Tiwari said in a tweet in Hindi on Wednesday. Delhi's air quality improved on Wednesday morning due to favourable wind speed but it remained in the 'poor' category. The AQI stood at 255 at 10.10 am, improving from 303 at 4 pm on Tuesday. It was recorded at 312 at 4 pm on Monday, the day of Diwali. An AQ

Delhi environment minister to chair meeting on anti-dust campaign

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will on Wednesday chair a high-level meeting to review the progress of the anti-dust campaign in the capital. Rai is expected to share data on the number of sites complying with the guidelines to manage dust pollution and infractions of government directions, an official said. User agencies of construction and demolition projects larger than 500 square metres are required to register them on the construction and demolition (C&D) portal launched in October last year in a bid to control dust pollution in the capital. The project proponents have to self-audit their compliance with dust control norms and upload a self-declaration on the portal on a fortnightly basis. In September, the Delhi government had also made it mandatory to install anti-smog guns at all construction and demolition sites larger than 500 square metres. Action is taken against project proponents found violating this direction. Earlier, construction and demolition sites larger

Post-Diwali air quality better than 2021 in several cities, shows CPCB data

Delhi air quality 'very poor' the day after; improvement over previous years

Kolkata AQI dips on Diwali amid rain; no escape from noise in Jharkhand

Intermittent rain and warnings of cyclone 'Sitrang' saw air pollution levels dip in Kolkata on Diwali, though the rain gods could not stem fireworks' use and the resulting noise in the capital of neighbouring state of Jharkhand. Air pollution level across Kolkata on Kali Puja-Diwali evening was "far less" than what it was on the occasion in the last three years, an official of West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) said on Tuesday. The dip in air pollution can largely be attributed to intermittent showers since Monday morning under the impact of cyclone 'Sitrang', he said. The light rain cleansed the air and prevented a section of revellers to go out and burst firecrackers, the official said. At Rabindra Sarobar in south Kolkata, the air quality index was 43 at 11 pm, which comes in the 'good' range. The AQI in the same locality was 168 around the same time on last year's Kali Puja. Similarly, the AQI at an air monitoring station in Jadavpur was 44 on Monday as compared to 24

PM 2.5 level lower in Delhi after Diwali but above safe limits: CPCB data

Every year air pollution levels spike in the Indo-Gangetic Plain a day after Diwali with grey skies and hard-to-breathe air

Cracker ban flouted, AAP should accept it has failed to curb pollution: BJP

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared on social media several videos of people defying the firecracker ban on Diwali to take a dig at the AAP government, while his party said the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation should accept that it has "failed" to curb pollution. Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana claimed that the air quality index (AQI) was in the "hazardous" category on the day of the festival and on Tuesday. According to forecasting agencies, the air quality in Delhi on the morning after Diwali was recorded in the ''very poor'' category but the situation was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of firecrackers and stubble burning. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. Using the hashtag 'DhuaHuaKejriwal', Bagga, among several videos, shared on Twitter clips of a boy and some

Delhi air quality 'very poor' after Diwali, improves from previous years

Pollution 'very unhealthy' and 'unhealthy' in the national capital and cities around it

Gopal Rai flags off 150 mobile smog guns to curb air pollution in Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday flagged off 150 mobile smog guns from Delhi Secretariat, in view of the pollution in the national capital."The day after Diwali has recorded the lowest pollution in the last five years. There has been a reduction of 30 per cent in pollution compared to last year itself," he said while sharing the figures from the last five years.The environment minister congratulated the citizens for their efforts towards keeping pollution under control."The festival of Diwali was celebrated with great pomp yesterday, but I want to congratulate the people of Delhi that due to your efforts, the level of pollution has not increased today compared to every year. Today is the lowest level of pollution in the last five years. Last year it was 462, but today it has come down to 323, that is, there is a shortfall of about thirty per cent," he said.On the incidents of burning of firecrackers, Gopal Rai further added that some people did burst crackers, it is ...

Delhi's air quality lowest in last 5 years after Diwali, still 'very poor'

The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 312 was the second best for the Diwali day in seven years

Pune's air quality turns to 'poor'; MPCB monitors noise levels: Report

Pune warrior moms, a group of mothers from across the country with various city level branches who are fighting for the right of children to breathe clean air, also urged the state govt to act

Despite ban, firecrackers burst in several parts of Delhi on Diwali

Firecrackers were burst by people in many parts of Delhi on Diwali night, flouting the ban imposed on it by the city government. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai last week had said bursting of firecrackers on Diwali in the national capital will attract a jail term up to six months and a fine of Rs 200. Despite legal deterrent in place to discourage people from doing so, by dusk, residents in many neighborhoods, including some areas in south Delhi and northwest Delhi, had started bursting crackers. Even high-intensity firecrackers could be heard going off on ground, or mid-air. Diwali is being celebrated across the country on Monday. Bursting of firecrackers on this auspicious day is an old tradition, but authorities in the city had said the decision to restrict it was taken after considering environmental concerns and health hazards associated with it. Delhi's air quality turned "very poor" on Monday amid an increase in stubble burning, bursting of firecrackers and moderately .

Real-time monitoring of sound, air pollution on Diwali underway in Bengal

West Bengal Environment Minister Manas Bhuniya Monday said the new central control room at Paribesh Bhavan here is monitoring sound and air pollution in real time on Diwali and Kali Puja. Bhuniya, who inspected the control room at the West Bengal Pollution Control Board headquarters, told reporters that experts from IIT-Delhi are examining the data at regular intervals, particularly during evening, and passing on the information to departments concerned. "If there is any data about violation of sound limits prescribed by the WBPCB, we will mark the hotspots and officers of the respective police stations will be alerted, and the offenders will be tracked," he said. Over 100 mini control rooms at the district level across North and South Bengal are functioning since the evening and feeding data to the central control room every minute, an Environment Department official said. WBPCB chairman Kalyan Rudra said so far, the situation has not turned alarming, which can be attributed to th

Air quality in Delhi 'poor', Noida 'very poor' ahead of Diwali; AQI at 276

The pollution level in the National Capital remains in the "poor" category as the Air Quality Index in the Delhi region was at 276 on the eve of Diwali

Delhi's overall air quality likely to remain 'poor' till Diwali: Report

Delhi's overall air quality is predicted to remain in the 'poor' to the lower end of 'very poor' category until the morning of October 24, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Transport-level winds from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh towards Delhi will pick up from October 24 and, in all likelihood, will bring significant stubble-related emissions to Delhi, SAFAR said. The city's 24-hour average AQI was recorded in the 'poor' category at 265 on Saturday as residents flouted the ban on firecrackers in parts of the national capital ahead of Diwali, according to Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) data. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. "If stubble burning increases gradually, which is likely, its share in Delhi's PM2.5 (based on the average temporal variability of fire counts in the previous years) is like

Stubble burning significant contributor to Delhi's unbreathable air: Report

As the air quality in the national capital exceeds the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) during the winters, stubble burning remains a significant contributor to Delhi's unbreathable air in October and November, a research study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said. It further said the causes behind Delhi's unbreathable air include a lack of emission control technologies in major sources of pollution, vehicular emissions, and episodic events of stubble burning, making the city's air quality extremely hazardous. "With the rains between 5 and 11 October giving Delhiites a brief respite from air pollution, the city's ambient air quality has deteriorated significantly since then and will continue to do so with winter fast approaching, the study said. It said the same or even higher pollution levels are expected across other cities and rural areas nearby Delhi, including Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Panipat, Ambala, Amritsar and ...

Solution for stubble burning

While there are many other contributors to poor AQI, stubble burning contributes between 35-45 per cent of atmospheric pollution in this season

PM2.5 pollution in Delhi during July-Sept quarter, 2nd lowest in 5 yrs: CSE

Delhi's PM2.5 pollution average for the July-August-September quarter this year stood at 37 microgram per cubic metre, only marginally higher than the five-year low of 36 microgram per cubic metre recorded during 2020, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Pollution levels in the July-August-September quarter were preceded by one of the most polluted summers this year, unlike in 2020 when the trimester followed the cleanest ever summer (March-May) due to extraordinary conditions created because of hard pandemic lockdowns, the green think tank said. "Therefore, it is important to understand what aided in cleaning up the Delhi air. Looking at the rainfall data it becomes evident that distribution of rainfall has a relatively higher impact on seasonal air quality than the absolute quantity of rainfall," it said. There have been 45 rainy days in July, August and September this year as compared to just 39 rainy days in the quarter last year. "These si

Delhi air pollution in early winter down 20% compared to pre-Covid: Report

The report also states that the onset of winter has been much cleaner this year due to the rains which were witnessed in September and October

Punjab rapped for failure to control stubble burning surge ahead of Diwali

On Monday and Tuesday, 1,045 events of stubble burning were reported as against 114 events during the same period in 2021

Temperature dips to 17 degrees Celsius, air quality remains poor in Delhi

Delhi on Wednesday recorded a minimum temperature of 17 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal for this time of the year, the India Meteorological Department said. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 33 degrees Celsius. Delhi's air quality continued to be in the poor category for the fourth consecutive day and any improvement is unlikely over the next few days. The air quality index (AQI) stood at 241 at 9 am. At least seven out of the 35 monitoring stations in the city recorded the air quality in the "very poor" category. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. According to the Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the transport sector accounted for 18.5 per cent of PM2.5 pollution in Delhi on Tuesday. The Early Warning System of the IITM said the air quality was likely to remain in the poor and very p