Delhi still choking. With no improvement in the air quality of Delhi-NCR even three days after Diwali, the environment authority on Saturday extended the ban on the entry of trucks, construction and polluting industries.
The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Saturday ordered the Delhi government to extend the ban which was imposed on November 2.
The restrictions imposed till November 10 were extended to November 12, by when there will be an improvement in the air quality of Delhi-NCR, as forecast by pollution monitoring agencies.
The restrictions were imposed by the EPCA under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Delhi’s air quality started deteriorating a day after Diwali to “severe-plus” or “emergency” due to fireworks and weather conditions like wind speed and dipping mercury, leading to lower dispersion rate of pollutants. The Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday was 401 or “severe”.
“The CPCB-headed task force has informed EPCA that given the prevailing adverse conditions, the following measures will remain until November 12, when it will further review the situation and inform us,” said EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal, in a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, the Delhi Environment Secretary and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
The measures include a ban on industries using coal and biomass, brick kilns, construction activities and entry of trucks into Delhi. The restrictions exclude power plants and waste to energy plants.
Despite showing some improvement from a severe-plus to severe in the last 24 hours, the air quality of Delhi-NCR began deteriorating again by Saturday evening with a rise in pollutants.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 4 p.m. was 401, while by 6 p.m. it dipped to 406 — both considered “severe”. Delhi’s AQI on Friday at 4 p.m. was 423.
Unfavourable meteorological conditions like very low wind speed and lower temperature are stopping PM2.5 and PM10, or particles with diameter less than 2.5 and 10 mm, from dispersing.
The average concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 in Delhi was 269 and 424 microgrammes per cubic metres at 4 p.m., which hiked to 275 and 432 units at 6 p.m. Meanwhile the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration across 49 areas of NCR was 256 and 409 units at 4 p.m., which increased to 261 and 416 units by 6 p.m.
The weather analysts expect a marginal improvement from Monday onwards.
“Currently Delhi is receiving very calm winds from East and South-East direction, which are not enough to disperse the pollutants and are getting calmer during the night. The situation may improve from Monday though,” said Mahesh Palawat, director, private weather agency Skymet.