Delhi-NCR's Smog Almost Apocalyptic; Air Quality Tanks To Season’s Worst In National Capital Region

The Thursday, 2nd November, sky was shrouded in a dense haze, evoking eerie comparisons to a post-apocalyptic landscape. Even buildings across the road were barely visible, obscured by the thick smog that hung in the air.

Numerous areas of Delhi found themselves trapped in the grip of hazardous air quality, enduring a persistent smoky haze for the third consecutive day.

The weather agency aqicn.org painted a grim picture by registering an astonishing air quality index of 999 in Delhi's Anand Vihar, while Noida's Sector 62 reported an alarming 469. Many parts of Delhi were not far behind, with their AQI soaring above 500, as reported by aqicn.org.

The grim specter of rising pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region looms large, courtesy of an upsurge in agricultural fires and unfavorable weather conditions. This forecast is particularly disconcerting given that the air quality index has already crossed the ominous 400-mark in several areas.

Health experts are sounding the alarm about the potential surge in asthma and respiratory issues, especially among the vulnerable segments of the population, such as children and the elderly.

As of 10 am (based on SAFAR data), the national capital city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was measured at 351. The 24-hour average AQI had been on a troubling trajectory: 364 on Wednesday, 1st November, 359 on Tuesday, 31st October, 347 on Monday, 30th October, 325 on Sunday, 29th October, 304 on Saturday, 28th October, and 261 on Friday, 27th October.

Various locales within the city, including Punjabi Bagh (416), Bawana (401), Mundka (420), and Anand Vihar (413), experienced air quality plummeting into the severe category. The concentration of PM2.5, comprising fine particulate matter notorious for deeply infiltrating the respiratory system upon inhalation, was a staggering six to seven times higher than the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic meter in these areas.

In response to this impending crisis, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced stringent measures. The city government will impose a ban on construction work in areas where the air quality index (AQI) surpasses the 400-mark for five consecutive days.

Furthermore, the government has launched the "Red Light On Gaadi Off" campaign to combat vehicular pollution and intends to enlist 1,000 private CNG buses to bolster public transportation and curtail vehicular emissions according to a report by News18.

The AQI also raised concerns in the neighboring regions, with Ghaziabad registering 230, Faridabad at 324, Gurugram at 230, Noida at 295, and Greater Noida at 344.

The air quality index provides a stark reminder of the severity of the situation, with an AQI between zero and 50 considered good, 51 to 100 categorized as satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 deemed poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and anything above 400 classified as severe.

Unfavorable meteorological conditions and a confluence of emissions from firecrackers, paddy straw burning, and local pollution sources conspire to plunge the Delhi-NCR region into a hazardous state during the winter months.

According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the capital city experiences peak pollution from 1st to 15th November, coinciding with a surge in stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana.

The Punjab government has set its sights on reducing farm fires by 50 percent this winter season and eradicating stubble burning in six districts, including Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), and SBS Nagar.

Both Punjab and Haryana grapple with vast expanses of land dedicated to paddy cultivation. As per the News18 report, in Punjab, approximately 31 lakh hectares is under paddy cultvation generating millions of tonnes of paddy straw (around 16 million tonnes), a significant contributor to the problem.

In Haryana, an estimated 14.82 lakh hectares of land are devoted to paddy cultivation, a significant expanse that is anticipated to produce a staggering 7.3 million tonnes of paddy straw, particularly of the non-basmati variety. This volume of agricultural residue has long been a major contributor to the issue of crop residue burning in the region.

An analysis by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune reveals that vehicular emissions (11% to 16%) and stubble burning (7% to 16%) stand as the two major contributors to the city's deteriorating air quality, reinforcing the urgent need for concerted efforts to address this pressing issue.