If we want Delhi to remain liveable, have an obligation to use public transport: CM Rekha Gupta

“If we want Delhi to remain liveable, we have an obligation to use public transport. We cause problems for our own convenience and then wonder how the pollution will be reduced. That will only happen when all of us decide that we will not use a car if we are travelling alone, I will either carpool or use the Metro or a bus,” she added.

While there are close to 80 lakh vehicles registered in Delhi alone, the city’s roads see vehicles from neighbouring states as well. Overall, around 2.88 crore vehicles ply on Delhi-NCR’s roads daily, said sources.

Listing the steps her government has taken to reduce air pollution, Gupta said a decision has been taken to completely convert the public bus fleet into electric vehicles. “We have already converted 3,500 of our buses to e-buses. By the end of 2026, we have set a target of converting all our buses to e-buses. We will bring our electric vehicle policy very soon,” she added.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) remained in the ‘Very Poor’ category on Wednesday, with the AQI recorded at 334, marginally improving from Tuesday’s 354, aided by stronger winds that helped disperse pollutants.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and air quality bulletins warned that dispersion conditions are likely to deteriorate, with ventilation index values dropping below favourable thresholds later this week. A ventilation index below 6,000 m²/s, combined with wind speeds under 10 kmph, is considered unfavourable for pollutant dispersal.

As a result, as per the IITM’s air quality forecast, Delhi’s AQI is expected to remain in the ‘Very Poor’ category until December 20, with the outlook for the following six days ranging from ‘Very Poor’ to ‘Severe’.

The AQI readings had crossed the 400-mark and fallen in the ‘Severe’ category on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

On Wednesday morning, due to shallow fog, Safdarjung recorded the lowest visibility at 700 m, while Palam reported a visibility of 800 m.

Source apportionment data from the Decision Support System (DSS) for air quality management showed a rise in transport sector emissions, accounting for around 16% of Delhi’s pollution load on Wednesday. Emissions from Jhajjar in Haryana stood at 16.53%, nearly matching Delhi’s transport sector’s contribution.

Delhi and peripheral industries together contributed 8.06%, while Rohtak accounted for 5.06%. Residential emissions were estimated at 3.97%, and Gurgaon’s contribution remained relatively low at 1.79%.

According to DSS forecasts, Jhajjar is expected to emerge as a dominant regional polluter in the coming days, with its contribution projected to rise sharply to 22.54% – potentially overtaking Delhi’s transport sector emissions.

The IMD attributed the marginal improvement in AQI to strong south-westerly winds, which reached speeds of up to 20 kmph over the past 24 hours, aiding dispersion.

However, meteorological conditions are expected to turn less favourable soon. While minimum temperatures are likely to remain near normal over the next three days, they are expected to rise by about 2 degrees Celsius.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which was 2.3 degrees below normal, while the day temperature settled at 24.7 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees above normal, according to IMD.