Delhi ready for Dussehra in 'very poor' air quality

On Monday, the Delhi government identified eight additional hotspots across the city, taking the total to 21, where the AQI had crossed the crucial 300 mark.

The quality of air has gradually deteriorated over the last weekend. On Sunday, the AQI was at 266 and 173 the previous day. | File photo | Image: Reuters

Air quality worsened even further on Tuesday, with the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) coming within inches of the 350 mark, a day after entering the crucial 301-400 band that authorities categorise as "very poor". While second-level restrictions under the Centre's GRAP emergency measures to counter poor air quality were already in place in the national capital, state authorities took a few major decisions to combat the air pollution mere days into the country's festive season and ahead of the Dussehra and Diwali festivals.

On Monday, the Delhi government identified eight additional hotspots across the city, taking the total to 21, where the AQI had crossed the crucial 300 mark.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that special teams would be deployed to identify the reason for pollution in these regions, and that authorities will be using the dust suppressant powder to curb dust pollution. The state government has said that air quality in the national capital can remain bad for the next 20-25 days.

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Among other measures, the use of diesel generator sets will be limited to railway, metro, emergency and telecom services, while the traffic police will ensure smooth vehicular movement in 91 congestion points.

The state government has also directed authorities to increase the frequencies of metros and DTC buses to aid the flow of traffic. It will implement an anti-dust campaign with stricter guidelines from October 25.

The quality of air has gradually deteriorated over the last weekend. On Sunday, the AQI was at 266 and 173 the previous day.

#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on actions being taken to mitigate air pollution in the city

"There are 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi. Today, 8 other points including Shadipur, Mandir Marg, Patparganj, Sonia Vihar, and Moti Bagh witnessed AQI levels above 300… pic.twitter.com/wbleu81UPp

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2023

What is AQI?

AQI is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.

Here's what various ranges of AQI indicate:

0 to 100: good
100 to 200: moderate
200 to 300: poor
300 to 400: very poor
400 and above: severe

What are various categories of action under GRAP?

GRAP is a set of guidelines and measures implemented to combat air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India, which includes Delhi and its surrounding areas. GRAP categorises actions into four stages:

Stage I: 'Poor' (AQI 201-300)
Stage II: 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400)
Stage III: 'Severe' (AQI 401-450)
Stage IV: 'Severe Plus' (AQI >450)

With inputs from agencies

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Delhi Air Quality AQI