Delhi-NCR air quality alarmingly high as some areas in severe category overall AQI at 406

New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday morning. The overall Air Quality Index in Delhi touched 354 at 7 am in the morning while some areas recorded AQI in the severe category crossing 400 AQI mark.

On Wednesday morning, the concentration of (Particulate Matters) PM 10 and PM 2.5 was recorded as 344 and 190 in Delhi. In Anand Vihar PM 10 was 481, In Okhla Phase-2 it was 376. The AQI in Narela stood at 409, while it was 355 in Punjabi Bagh

Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the Delhi government has set up 586 teams to ensure strict implementation of the ban on construction and demolition activities announced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday in view of worsening air quality.

Rai said Anand Vihar and Vivek Vihar have been reporting high pollution levels continuously which could be due to



construction work related to Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).

"We have directed the user agency to strictly follow dust pollution control norms. The government has deployed 15 anti-smog guns in those areas in addition to seven water sprinklers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi," he said.

"Diesel-run buses have an important role in high pollution levels at the Delhi-UP border. We request the UP government to run CNG buses in at least the NCR districts. This will help bring down air pollution," the minister said.

The anti-pollution measures are classified into four categories based on the four stages of air quality such as - Stage I - 'Poor', if the Air Quality Index (AQI) is from 201-300; Stage II - 'Very Poor' if AQI ranges from 301-400; Stage III - 'Severe', if AQI is 401-450; and Stage IV - 'Severe Plus', if the AQI is above 450.