Delhi Pollution

Delhi govt to plant 5.2 mn trees and shrubs in mega drive beginning Feb 26

The Delhi government will plant 52 lakh trees and shrubs in the city during its mega plantation drive beginning February 26. The city government usually starts the drive in the monsoon, but the large number of trees demanded an early start, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said at a press conference here. He also asked all agencies concerned to get a third-party audit of the tree plantation done in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The minister said the AAP government will also set up a panel to conduct site suitability analysis before taking up the plantation exercise to improve survival rate of the saplings. Rai said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch the plantation drive from a location near Shastri Park. "A total of 52 lakh trees, including 25 lakh shrubs, will be planted in Delhi this year. The Delhi forest department will plant 12 trees and 6 lakh shrubs this year," he said, A total of 47 lakh trees and shrubs were planted last year as against the target of 42 lakh.

Delhi's AQI remains in 'very poor' category for third consecutive day

Both the major pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 were recorded at 304 in the very poor category and 183 at moderate category in the city on Monday morning

Delhi not on the list of most polluted cities: Kejriwal cites media report

Delhi is not on the list of the most polluted cities in the world, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday citing a media report. "After a long time, Delhi is not in the list of the most polluted cities of the world. Efforts of Delhiites are slowly but surely paying off. Congrats Delhi! But its still a long way to go. We have to be counted in the most clean cities of the world," he said and posted a snapshot of the rankings from the media report on Twitter. According to the report, Lahore, Mumbai and Kabul are the top three polluted cities in the world. Delhi's PM2.5 pollution has reduced by 28 per cent in five years, from 135 microgram per cubic metre in 2016 to 97 microgram per cubic metre in 2022, according to the Union environment ministry's data. PM10 levels have reduced by 27 per cent, from 291 microgram per cubic metre in 2016 to 211 microgram per cubic metre in 2022.

Delhi's air quality dips to 'poor' category, likely to deteriorate further

The PM 2.5 pollutants in the National Capital's air stood at 276 on Friday morning

Delhi LG Saxena flags off 13 multipurpose vehicles to fight smog, pollution

Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday inaugurated 13 multipurpose vehicles equipped with anti-fog sprinklers and anti-clogging facilities to clean the city's streets. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has procured 28 such vehicles from the Ministry of Environment, 13 of them were flagged off Monday and the rest will come by February 15. Each vehicle costs Rs 48 lakh. An official said that the vehicles have a 5,000-litre water tanker each fitted with a sprinkler system, jetting arrangements, and an anti-smog gun. Speaking at the flagging-off ceremony, Saxena said: "By these vehicles, I am sure we will be able to fight the pollution war more effectively." "The best part of this vehicle is that it has jets for water sprinklers. It also has anti-clogging facility and it can also clean the spits of paan on the footpath. I am very hopeful that this will be a milestone in our war towards pollution," he added.

Clean-up act: Why Delhi has consistently failed to make its air breathable

Experts say a China-like approach is needed with neighbouring states working alongside it

Explainer: What does an AQI of 450 mean? Is it just a winter thing?

At 450, the concentration of pollutants in the air "affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases"

Delhi AQI 'severe', CAQM asks NCR to implement anti-pollution curbs

As Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the "severe" category on Monday due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed all NCR states to implement anti-pollution curbs with greater vigour. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 434 at 4 pm on Monday, worsening from 371 on Sunday. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". An official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said low temperatures, calm winds and high moisture content led to trapping of pollutants. Considering the sudden spike in air pollution, the CAQM held an urgent review meeting with officials from Delhi and NCR states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and directed them to implement the provisions of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the field with "greater vigour to prevent further deterioration of air quality". The commission also stressed on the need to

CAQM rolls back Stage-III of GRAP as pollution levels in Delhi improve

Decision was taken after observing declining trend in the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi and also considering the meteorological/ weather forecasts by India Meteorological Department (IMD)

Delhi sees season's coldest morning at 5.3 deg C; visibility drops to 500 m

A shallow layer of fog engulfed parts of Delhi on Friday morning, reducing visibility to 500 metres, as the city recorded the coldest morning of the season with mercury dipping to 5.3 degrees Celsius. The Safdarjung Observatory, the primary weather station in the national capital, recorded the minimum temperature at 5.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This is the lowest temperature recorded so far in the season. The Palam airport logged the lowest visibility level of 200 metres at 5:30 am. Visibility dropped to 500 metres at the Safdarjung airport at 5:30 am, the IMD said. According to the IMD, very dense fog is when visibility is between zero and 50 metres, between 51 and 200 metres is dense fog, between 201 and 500 metres is moderate fog, and between 501 and 1,000 is shallow fog. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 20 degrees Celsius during the day, the IMD said.

To fight deadly smog, farmers are being encouraged to sell crop waste

Smoke from the burning of crop stubble lingers over most of north India for weeks during the cold months of November and December, with air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels in several areas

Gusting winds help bring down Delhi's AQI to 177, best quality since Oct 15

Winds gusting up to 16 kilometres per hour gave Delhi its best air quality since October 15 on Tuesday. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of the city stood at 177, improving from 218 on Monday. The AQI was 186 on October 15. This is also the first time since December 14, 2020 that the capital recorded a "moderate" air quality day in December. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". Meanwhile, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has directed agencies to strictly implement curbs under stage 3 (AQI severe) and stage 4 (severe plus) of the Graded Response Action Plan whenever ordered by the Commission for Air Quality Management. The CAQM had on December 3 directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to implement curbs under the stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan, including a ban on the non-essential construction work with the air pollution in the city spiralling to severe levels. The restrictions were revoked on Dec

Delhi pollution: Smoke intrusion from farm fires in Oct-Nov lowest in 4 yrs

Not only have the number of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana this season been the lowest since 2016, the national capital also witnessed the least smoke intrusion from stubble burning during October-November in four years, according to a Centre for Science and Environment analysis. Analysis of data from SAFAR, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality forecasting agency, shows that smoke from farm fires contributed to PM2.5 pollution in Delhi on 53 days this year, starting October 12. The figure is lower than the previous three years when smoke intrusion was reported on 56-57 days but higher than the 2018 reading of 48 days. The highest contribution this year was 34 per cent on November 3. Last year, the share of farm fires in Delhi's PM 2.5 pollution peaked to 48 per cent on November 7. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said stubble burning-related smokefall over Delhi depended on two major factors -- the number and intensity of farm fires and meteorological ...

Delhi's AQI improves to 'moderate'; min temp settles at 8.9 degrees Celsius

Delhiites woke up to a chill in the air on Tuesday morning as the minimum temperature settled at 8.9 degrees Celsius, even as the the air quality in the national capital improved to 'moderate'. The minimum temperature on Monday was recorded at 8.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal. The air quality index was recorded in the 'moderate' category, with the air quality index (AQI) standing at 195 at around 9 AM, data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed. The maximum temperature a day earlier had stood at 27.1 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average, while the air quality was recorded in the 'poor' category. The 24-hour AQI was recorded at 218 ('poor') at 4 PM for the city. 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'. The minimum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 8.9 degrees Celsius, according to data shared by the India

BS Views of the week: Election outcomes, inflation, RBI rate hike, and more

Best of BS Opinion: Fixing gas prices, Delhi's pollution crisis, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today:

Pollution crisis

Delhi needs local solutions

Delhi's air quality slips back to 'very poor' category with AQI at 337

Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded on Tuesday at 337 by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)

Shallow fog covers Delhi sky, air quality continues to be very poor

The air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the "very poor" category as the shallow fog and mist surrounded the city

Min temp settles at 7.3 degrees C in Delhi, air quality 'very poor'

The minimum temperature in Delhi settled three notches below normal on Tuesday at 7.3 degrees Celsius, the Met office said, forecasting partly-cloudy sky later in the day. The air quality index remained in the very-poor category with the AQI of 358 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The minimum temperature on Monday was 7.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal. The minimum temperature on Tuesday was 7.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, the Met said. It forecasted partly cloudy sky later in the day. The maximum temperatures is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius.