Delhi air slips to 'very poor' as ban on construction, trucks' entry lifted

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was at 316--'very poor'-- at 8 am, according to SAFAR

Delhi air again slipped to 'very poor' category on Tuesday, a deterioration that came as the pollution panel uplifted the ban on construction and demolition work in the national capital and the entry of trucks into the state. 

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was at 316--'very poor'-- at 8 am, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality forecast agency SAFAR. Readings below 50 are considered safe, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous or 'severe'.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Monday lifted the restrictions on construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR in view of an improvement in air quality and meteorological forecast. This came after the panel had on Friday allowed authorities in Delhi-NCR to resume physical classes for students in classes 6 and above, colleges and other educational institutions with immediate effect.

Delhi this morning was the world's topmost polluted city with an AQI of 414, said iQair, a website that tracks air quality worldwide. Kolkata and Mumbai were the only other Indian cities on the list at the sixth and seventh spot with an AQI of 177, 169, respectively.

Delhi's air quality in November was the worst in seven years, data showed. The air became worse after Diwali on November 4 as people violated a ban on bursting firecrackers while the pollution compounded due to an increase in stubble burning by farmers in areas adjoining the national capital.

Air pollution costs Indian businesses $95 billion or roughly 3 per cent of its GDP every year, according to U.K.-based non-profit Clean Air Fund and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Bloomberg has reported.