Gopal Rai, the environment minister for Delhi, stated on Monday that the city’s next two weeks are crucial because of the festivals of Dussehra and Deepavali as well as the impact of farm fires. The city has implemented phase two of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to combat the “very poor” air quality. Earlier today, Rai presided over a meeting at the Delhi Secretariat to assess the state of Delhi-NCR’sairquality. He announced that special teams would be sent to locate and examine local sources of pollution.
Rai also said that the Delhi government had reached out to neighbouring states on stubble burning, which contributed to the high levels of pollution. “We have spoken to the environment ministers of the surrounding states and they have assured that they will take action on stubble burning… Due to Diwali, stubble and Dussehra, the next 10 to 15 days are very crucial for Delhi…” Rai said.
After today’s meeting, the environment minister spoke to the media and announced that eight additional pollution hotspots in addition to the current 13 had been found in the city. He also announced the deployment of a special team to locate and examine regional sources of pollution. In Delhi, there are 13 high-pollution areas. Due to regional factors, the AQI was above 300 today at 8 other locations, including Shadipur, Mandir Marg, Patparganj, Sonia Vihar, and Moti Bagh. Special teams will be sent here to locate and examine any nearby sources of pollution, according to Gopal Rai.
The overall air quality in the national capital on Monday morning was recorded in the ‘Very Poor category’, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 306 against 302 recorded on Sunday afternoon, as per SAFAR-India.
The overall air quality in the National Capital deteriorated from the ‘poor’ category to the ‘very poor’ category, with the Air Quality Index at 302 on Sunday afternoon, as per data from SAFAR-India.