Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Diwali Pollution
Relentless bursting of firecrackers blanketed Delhi in dense smoke on Thursday, causing severe noise pollution and reducing visibility, as people defied a ban on firecrackers to celebrate Diwali. The city's air quality dropped to the "very poor" category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 330 at 10 pm. Key areas, including Anand Vihar, saw the AQI plunge into the "severe" category while PM2.5 concentrations soared, creating hazardous conditions for respiratory health. In contrast to the clearer sky on Diwali last year, when favourable conditions kept the AQI at 218, this year's celebrations returned the city to its notorious pollution levels, a pattern worsened by unfavourable meteorological conditions, stubble burning and vehicular emissions. Although the city government had set up 377 enforcement teams and spread awareness through local associations to ensure compliance with the firecracker ban, neighbourhoods across east and west Delhi reported large-scale flouting of the ...
Delhi's air quality continued to deteriorate, remaining in the "very poor" category on Diwali, with levels expected to worsen to the "severe" category due to bursting of firecrackers at night. Delhiites woke up Thursday to a sky shrouded in a thick layer of smog. The air in Anand Vihar, a major terminus, was extremely polluted with the AQI in the "severe" category. The city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 328 at 4 pm, up from 307 on Wednesday when the city celebrated Chhoti Diwali. In 2023, Delhi residents enjoyed clearer skies and abundant sunshine on Diwali, with an AQI of 218, compared to 312 in 2022, 382 in 2021, 414 in 2020, 337 in 2019, 281 in 2018, 319 in 2017, and 431 in 2016, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data. Last year, a decrease in stubble-burning incidents and rain before Diwali, along with favourable meteorological conditions, prevented the national capital from turning into a gas chamber after the festival. The pollutan
Amid high pollution levels in the national capital, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has doubled the charges for parking sites managed by it to discourage people from using private vehicles. There are a total of 91 parking sites in the NDMC area. While 41 of these are managed by the NDMC, the maintenance of others has been outsourced to other agencies. Parking sites between Rajpath and AIIMS, including those at Sarojini Nagar market, Khan Market, Lodhi Road, INA, AIIMS and Safdarjung, fall in the NDMC area. These sites witness heavy traffic. "Keeping in view the climatic conditions, the parking fees (off road/on road) has been enhanced to twice the existing (amount) to discourage private transport for the parking managed by NDMC through its own staff till 31st January 2024," an official notification stated. The NDMC presently charges Rs 20 per hour and a maximum of Rs 100 per day for four-wheelers parked at surface parking sites and Rs 10 per hour and a maximum of Rs 50 per d
Around 32 percent families are planning to burst firecrackers in Delhi, while 43 per cent cited concerns about pollution as the reason for not doing so, according to a survey by a community social media platform. According to the survey by Localcircles that received over 9,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad, 32 per cent families in Delhi-NCR are likely to burst firecrackers this Diwali despite a ban on its sale and use. Pollution levels in Delhi-NCR on Monday morning were recorded around seven to eight times above the government-prescribed safe limit, as a toxic haze persisted over the region for the seventh consecutive day. Many residents believe that stubble burning in the neighbouring states is the primary cause of increased air pollution in Delhi-NCR from late October to early November, the survey stated. "As per reports, the sale of firecrackers is not prohibited in neighbouring states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the last
Diwali is the start of the air pollution season in the states in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and the worst of the season may be ahead of us, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board's Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station. According to the analysis by National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Tracker, average PM 2.5 levels in October this year were higher as compared to 2021 in the capital cities of Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Patna. The PM2.5 levels in October 2022 have surpassed those in October 2021, despite delayed withdrawal of monsoon and a comparatively cleaner Diwali over the last five years. The rains also delayed the stubble burning season this year, the NCAP Tracker analysis said. "The PM 2.5 levels for October 2022 in Delhi and Patna remained above (Central Pollution Control Board) CPCB's daily safe limits of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Delhi recorded an average PM 2.5 of 105 micrograms per cubic metre in October as opposed to 74.88 micrograms