Delhi air 'very poor' as ban on entry of trucks, WFH extended till Nov 26

The national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 352 --'very poor'-- at 8 am, according to SAFAR

Delhi's air was severely polluted on Monday" a day after the state government extended the ban on entry of trucks carrying non-essential items into the national capital and work from home for its staff till November 26.

The national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 352 --'very poor'-- at 8 am, according to the state-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Readings below 50 are considered safe, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous or 'severe'.

Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai will hold a high-level meeting on Monday with senior officers to review the restrictions imposed in the city to contain high pollution levels. This comes as the Delhi government extended the ban on entry of trucks, work from home for all its employees till November 26, and ordered to keep schools shut until further orders to combat air pollution and minimise its health effects.

Delhi's AQI levels 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.

Delhi was the third most polluted city on the planet with an AQI of 232, said iQair, a website that tracks air pollution worldwide. The only other Indian city on the website’s list of 10 was Kolkata being the second most polluted city worldwide with an AQI of 238.

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.