Deli Air Pollution

Delhi's air quality records 'poor' for second consecutive day with 273 AQI

National capital sees marginal improvement from 'very poor' levels, but monitoring stations reveal alarming hotspots exceeding AQI 300

Delhi: Central govt employees asks WFH amid hazardous air quality

Highlighting the alarming deterioration in Delhi's air quality, a body representing the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers on Monday demanded work-from-home, staggered working hours and air purifiers in all office buildings to mitigate the health impact of the severe pollution levels. In a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the association said that poor air quality has also had a noticeable effect on workplace productivity with employees experiencing symptoms such as respiratory issues, eye irritation, fatigue and general discomfort. "It has become imperative to take urgent measures to ensure the well-being of all, particularly those engaged in government services," said the letter by the CSS Forum. It said continuous exposure to hazardous air quality is leading to a surge in respiratory ailments and other health issues among employees and their families. "The discomfort caused by poor air quality is affecting the efficiency and out

Explained: Why Delhi-NCR struggles with severe air pollution every winter

A study by the Centre for Science and Environment reveals that vehicular emissions are the largest contributor to Delhi's air pollution, accounting for 51.5 per cent of the city's pollution

Pollution occupies centre stage as BJP's Delhi poll campaign picks up pace

The BJP has put the pollution issue at the centre stage of its campaign strategy for the Delhi Assembly polls scheduled to be held in February next year, according to party leaders. Along with this, corruption, bad condition of roads, water supply and poor infrastructure are among the issues with which the opposition party plans to target the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the elections, the BJP's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said. Pollution is one of the main poll planks of the party, he said. The city's air quality has been worsening as it edged closer to the severe zone in some areas on Tuesday. The Delhi BJP has been mounting relentless attacks on the AAP over the issue of hazardous air as well as toxic froth witnessed on the Yamuna river. "Not just air pollution, the AAP government's failure to clean the heavily polluted Yamuna in Delhi is another issue that touches every Delhiite. People are falling ill due to worsening air quality. We cannot let the AAP government go

Delhi records hottest October since 1951 amid rising pollution levels

The CPCB data shows significant pollution levels, especially after Diwali celebrations, raising concerns about air quality and potential health impacts nationwide

Air pollution can lead to more mortality than Covid: Randeep Guleria

According to Dr Guleria, air pollution can cause inflammation or swelling of the vessels of the heart in patients who have heart diseases and this also leads to higher chances of heart attacks

Bhupinder Hooda advocates for MSP for stubble to combat pollution

On October 16, the Supreme Court summoned the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, demanding an explanation as to why legal action had not been taken against stubble burning in their states

CAQM authorises action on stubble burning, polluting vehicles in Delhi-NCR

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining Areas has deputed 26 Central teams to the hotspot districts in Punjab and Haryana

Delhi air pollution: PM's principal secretary flags slow landfill progress

P K Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, on Friday, expressed concern over the slow progress in clearing landfill sites and delays in implementing waste-to-energy projects in the national capital. Chairing a meeting of the High-Level Task Force to address Delhi's air pollution, Mishra called for stronger enforcement of dust control at construction sites and better waste management. He directed the agencies to prevent the open burning of waste and to promote greening and paving of road areas to reduce dust. According to a statement, Mishra reviewed the preparedness of the Delhi government and other stakeholders to carry out both short and long-term measures to reduce air pollution in the city. Senior officials from central ministries and the Delhi administration discussed current strategies and explored new ways to address the pollution problem, it said. The chief secretary of Delhi said construction dust, biomass burning, and vehicle emissions were the major pollutio

Improvement in Delhi's PM2.5 levels since 2015-17 halted in 2023: CSE

Delhi-NCR recorded the longest spell of 'very poor' or worse air quality and the maximum number of smog episodes in November and December 2023 in the last six years, according to a new analysis. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an independent think-tank that analysed pollution data for Delhi-NCR, said the gradual long-term improvement in annual PM2.5 levels since 2015-17 halted in 2023. This occurred despite cleaner-than-usual summer and monsoon seasons and significantly reduced intrusion of smoke from farm fires in northern states. However, this winter witnessed unusually low surface wind speeds, trapping high levels of local pollution. Due to the impact of unusual winter levels, the overall annual levels have plateaued and worsened, reversing the gains of the long-term downward trend, the CSE said. Despite a decrease in stubble burning contributing to Delhi's pollution this year, coupled with increased rainfall in November and milder winter conditions, the annual lev

Delhi wakes up to cold, severely polluted air with an AQI value of 411

Aizwal, the capital city of Mizoram registered the best air quality with an Air quality index value of 18

Polluted air unrestricted by borders: Haryana CM amid political blame game

Polluted air is not restricted by borders, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday and claimed that people in his state as well as in Delhi were suffering with Punjab reporting several cases of crop-residue burning. He, however, stressed there should not be politics over the issue and that it is the collective responsibility of everyone to keep the environment clean. The air quality in Delhi and its adjoining areas in the National Capital Region (NCR) worsened on Wednesday morning, with smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital. "There should be no politics. Unfortunately, a few people are doing politics over it, but they are not getting any benefit...," the chief minister said when asked by reporters in Pinjore on a Supreme Court bench on Tuesday taking a stern view of states trying to shift the blame on one another, and observing there cannot be a "political battle"

Delhi air quality 'severe', farm fires account for one-third pollution

Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs dropped to the severe category again on Wednesday morning, with smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 421, worsening from 395 at 4 pm on Tuesday. Despite a marginal dip, the concentration of PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory system and triggering health problems, exceeded the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times in the capital. It was 30 to 40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Several cities across the Indo-Gangetic plains reported hazardous air quality. Neighbouring Ghaziabad (382), Gurugram (370), Noida (348), Greater Noida (474), and Faridabad (396) also reported hazardous air quality. According to data from the Decision Support System,

Air Pollution, 25 Oct: Delhi's air 'poor' again, AAP holds press conference

Delhi's AQI improves to 'moderate' class with AQI 190, Mumbai's AQI stays 'moderate' at 139. Delhi Metro to increase the frequency of trains on the weekends to ease pollution

Making action plan to combat pollution in Delhi ahead of Diwali: Gopal Rai

Action will be taken against those who violate the norms, said Rai, adding that the Delhi government is preparing to come up with a 'Winter action plan'

Today Air Pollution Update, 23 Oct: Delhi's air quality deteriorates

The minimum temperature early today was 17.2 degrees celsius, which is common for this season. Clear skies and a maximum temperature of 31 degrees was observed by IMD for Delhi today

30% increase in number of respiratory patients this New Year, say doctors

Respiratory illnesses increase during the winter season due to air pollutants settling down in the atmosphere

Beijing is tackling its air pollution problem; Why can't New Delhi?

The return of smog season in India's capital has again left residents asking why nothing has changed; the answer may be largely political

Air quality panel revokes Stage III of GRAP as Delhi pollution eases

On Monday Punjab reported only four incidents of residue burning as against 2,175 reported on Sunday

Delhi's air quality worsens, AQI in 'very poor'; Wednesday to be severe

After slightly improving, the national capital's air quality again dipped into the "very poor" category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city reached 339 on Tuesday evening