For the second consecutive day, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in New Delhi persisted in the 'severe' category, registering at 466, according to the data published by the Central Pollution Control Board at 8 am on Friday. Mundka recorded the highest AQI at 498, closely followed by Bawana at 496. For the first time this season, Delhi’s air quality had plummeted to hit the ‘severe’ category on Thursday. With the AQI breaching the 400 mark, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday all primary schools will remain closed for the next two days. A cocktail of factors — low wind speed and intrusion of smoke from stubble burning — added to the impact of local emissions. This resulted in the air quality on Thursday consistently worsening through the day in the national capital from an average of 351 at 10 am to touch 402 at 5 pm. By 9 pm, it had deteriorated further to 418. As per the Central Pollution Control Board, AQI that is “severe” (401 to 500) can affect “healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases”. Invoking Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the city, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has banned non-essential construction activities and imposed restrictions on certain categories of vehicles. The transport department said a fine of Rs 20,000 would be imposed on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles. The restrictions on these vehicles will be applicable in the surrounding areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar too. Mumbai AQI at 'moderate' Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) registered at 171 on Friday morning, categorising it as ‘moderate.’ On Thursday morning the city recorded an AQI of 160 (moderate). The pollution level in the island city has been in the moderate category over the last few days. As the city continues to reel under depleting air quality, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is slated to install air purifiers across five locations — including Jogeshwari’s JVLR junction, Chembur, Mulund, BKC and Dahisar— wherein a slew of construction projects are unfolding. According to the data furnished in the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) document, the key factor contributing to pollution in Mumbai is the dust arising from the construction and demolition work on the string of ongoing projects of the megapolis. In its ongoing ‘Death by Breath’ series, The Indian Express has also shed light on the burgeoning Air Quality Index (AQI) levels amidst unmonitored construction works. Of the five locations where the BMC has charted plans to install the monitors, three spots — Mulund, Chembur and BKC — recorded poor air quality on Thursday, with AQI ranging between 200 – 300. Meanwhile, even though civic authorities have given one month time to builders for acquiring sprinklers and fogging machines at construction sites, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials have already started issuing notices to several contractors and real estate firms who have been appointed to carry out private and government projects in the city. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar said that notices have been served to 97 builders for adhering to the dust mitigation norms. On Friday morning, the AQI readings were as follows: Jaipur at 181 (moderate), Patna at 180 (moderate), Pune at 164, Ahmedabad at 144 (moderate), Bengaluru at 67 (satisfactory), and Chennai at 58 (satisfactory). According to the AQI monitoring chart, an AQI between 0 and 50 is termed ‘good’, between 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and an AQI beyond 400 AQI is ‘severe’.
