Delhi AQI marginally improves after light rains, remains in ‘severe’ category

The 24-hour average AQI on Saturday went down from 484 to 399, still beyond the 200 mark for ‘moderate’ air quality.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’. Above 500 falls in the ‘severe-plus emergency’ category.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Saturday expressed deep anguish and anger at the unprecedented situation triggered by the rising air pollution in Delhi and wrote an emotional letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the need for arriving at a consensus on tackling the issue, rising above political affiliations and regional considerations.

Singh, in his letter, said that he had no intention of brushing his hands off Punjab’s responsibility in the tragic state of affairs, adding that however, the entire country, including Delhi itself as well as the government at the Centre had allowed “this state of affairs to emerge and sustain, with our various acts of commission and omission”.

After Amarinder Singh’s letter, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar wrote to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a meeting with chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, UP and Haryana.

“The ongoing public health emergency in NCR is a matter of serious concern for all of us. To alleviate the suffering of people, there is a need to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to tackle the issue in a more sensitive and responsible manner. As no single person, organisation or government can improve the quality of air in NCR, playing politics on this serious situation is unfortunate and, in itself, a matter of concern. The focus should be on providing relief and succour to the people who are suffering due to the prevalent severe pollution in the NCR for the last couple of days,” Khattar wrote in his letter.

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that the Centre and Delhi, Punjab and Haryana need to find a solution to stubble burning.

A statement by SAFAR said that the Air Quality Index will improve further and is expected to reach the ‘very poor’ category. It added that the approaching western disturbance is likely to positively influence Delhi’s air quality by increasing windspeed and flushing out accumulated pollutants.

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