The national capital is facing the worst spell of smog in 17 years, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Thursday, saying the Delhi government should issue health alert and convey that children should stay indoors as there is a state of health emergency due to peaking air pollution.
Four days after Diwali, the city’s air quality also remained in the “severe” category as suspended particulates (PM2.5 and PM10) mixed with moisture leading to the formation of a thick cover of smog in the absence of local wind movement.
As visibility remained poor and the city choked due to a haze, CSE asked the Delhi government to roll out stringent plans for controlling winter pollution from all sources of pollutants and issue daily health advisory to the people.
“This demands emergency response to protect the vulnerable — those who are suffering from respiratory and heart diseases and children.
“The government should aggressively inform all and advise them to stay indoors and avoid outdoor exercises. At the same time, it should roll out stringent winter pollution control for all sources along with emergency action,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, head of CSE’s air pollution and sustainable mobility teams.
The CSE said that as per the Indian Meteorological Department, the Wednesday smog was the worst with very poor visibility in 17 years, with the visibility dipping to as low as 300-400 meters at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
According to the green body, the analysis of data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee shows that the levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter below 2.5 microns) have increased by 62.7 per cent on November 2 as compared to that on Diwali (October 30) and the levels were 9.4 times the standard on Wednesday. Similarly, on Tuesday night, PM2.5 concentration increased to 548 microgramme per cubic metre (cum) — which nine times the standard.
As per the air quality monitoring network SAFAR, the PM2.5 levels are in severe category and it will continue to be so for more than three days.
“Delhi needs an effective winter pollution mitigation plan that can make a difference. Without strong action smog is only expected to get worse this winter at serious public health costs,” Ms Roychowdhury said.
Satellite images of Nasa’s fire mapper have showed that incidences of paddy burning in
Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have increased after Diwali, the CSE said.
The images clearly revealed that after October 30, crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh became more aggressive which would have contributed to the severe smog in the national capital, it said.
Noting that India has already adopted a system of issuing health advisories, along with its air quality index, the CSE said it was not being utilised to issue alerts to people.
