The air quality in the national capital improved slightly on Sunday, bringing down pollution levels from 'hazardous' to 'very poor', even as a thick blanket of smog and haze continued to envelop the region.
The pollution monitoring agencies stated that the extra load of pollutants generated from crop residue burning from neighbouring states such as Punjab and Haryana has also registered a slight drop, leading to slight improvement in the air quality.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi improved from 440 on Saturday to 339 today, said centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). "The level may not improve further as weather conditions are still unfavourable," it added.
Notably, an AQI between the range of 0-50 is considered good, the range between 51 to 100 is marked as satisfactory and 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 comes under the category of poor and 401 -500 severe and beyond 500 is contemplated as hazardous.
At Dhirpur, the AQI was 307 at 9:30 am, while in Mathura Road area it dipped to 347 categories at 'very poor'. Furthermore, AQI near Pitampura, Airport Terminal 3 and Delhi University stood at 297, 320 and 289 respectively.
Contamination of atmosphere has become a major concern of new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological impact on not only on adults but also children. People residing in Delhi and National Capital Region, are worried for their children's well being as schools will be reopened tomorrow despite smog and surging pollution.
Speaking to ANI, Roopali Jain, a mother of two children said, "There are no air purifiers in the classrooms and there I can't think of any other way to provide fresh air to my children. School holidays should be extended for the next few days until the air quality improves."
As per the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the task force will take a call on whether to keep the schools shut or not.
The medical practitioners across the city have advised people suffering from breathing difficulties to avoid outside activities as it may exacerbate their respiratory diseases. They have recommended people to use mask whenever they step out of their houses.
Taking the cognisance of the prevailing situation, the EPCA has extended the ban on construction activities, industries using biomass and coal till November 12. Not only that, the entry of heavy vehicles such as trucks in the capital has also been restricted.
It was also agreed that during this period New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will ensure that wastes are being physically removed and taken to a disposable site so that it can be incinerated properly.
It has been found out that the 12000 tons of industrial and plastic waste have been removed till November 5 since EPCA directed NDMC to remove the waste lying on the roadside on October 27. However remaining industrial wastage also needs to be removed.
EPCA has also asked to file a compliance report at the earliest on steps are taken to ensure that there are systematic collection and transportation of waste material on regular basis.
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