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Air quality in parts of the national capital hovered in the "very poor" category on Thursday, according to the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The AQI in various parts of Delhi fell in the "severe" category on Wednesday.
The air quality Index (AQI) at IGI Airport (T3) was recorded at 334 on Thursday morning, while the AQI in the New Moti Bagh area was 343. The AQI at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was recorded at 345 on Thursday at 7 AM and RK Puram saw an AQI of 360. The AQI in the Anand Vihar area was 358 at 7 am.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", 401 and 450 "severe", and above 450 "severe-plus". Over the last few weeks, air quality in the national capital lingered in the range of "severe" to "very poor".
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC) emphasised the need to curb the burning of crop residue and told state governments to take steps to prevent pollution.
Stressing the need for judicial monitoring to ensure people do not face the same scenario every winter, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said," Let us at least make an endeavour for the next winter to be a little better." The bench was hearing a matter related to an air pollution issue in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) during the winter.
The bench noted that several meetings of the committee chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary took place and it has prepared an action plan for states, including Punjab and Haryana, to tackle the problem. The bench instructed the states to take measures to implement the action plans and submit progress reports before the top court within two months.
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"Possibly, this matter needs continuous monitoring. What happens is that when the problem arises, we suddenly take it up. The court must monitor it for some time," the bench observed.
Attorney General R Venkataramani also submitted a note on the central government's behalf about the measures to be taken to prevent farm fires and also placed the minutes of meetings of the committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
Delhi weather forecast: Minimum temperature expected to be 6.2 degrees Celsius
The minimum temperature in Delhi on Thursday is expected at 6.2 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A thin layer of fog shrouded Delhi early on Thursday morning, moderately affecting visibility.
(With inputs from agencies)
