Delhi Faces Severe Air Quality Crisis With AQI Spiking To 422

As Delhi woke up to a dense cover of smog on Saturday, the air quality deteriorated sharply, entering the 'Severe' category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 422 early in the morning. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB noted that out of 39 monitoring stations in the city, 28 reported 'Severe' AQI levels above 400, while the rest were in the 'Very Poor' category. This alarming spike in pollution comes after a brief period of slight improvement, highlighting the city's ongoing struggle with air quality.

The highest AQI readings came from Wazirpur at 467 and Jahangirpuri at 463, with other areas like Alipur, Anand Vihar, and Chandni Chowk also reporting dangerously high AQI levels of 452, 458, and 440, respectively. AQI readings range from 0 to 50 for 'Good', 51 to 100 for 'Satisfactory', up to 'Severe Plus' for readings above 500, indicating the gravity of Delhi's air pollution crisis.

This significant worsening of air quality has prompted the central commission to recommend that offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) reduce their operational capacity to 50%, urging the other half of the workforce to work from home. This is part of a series of stringent measures to combat the pollution crisis, including the enforcement of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). This stage includes a prohibition on truck entry into Delhi unless they are carrying essential goods or use clean fuel such as LNG, CNG, BS-VI diesel, or electricity.

Moreover, all construction activities, including those of highways, roads, flyovers, power lines, pipelines, and other public projects, have been put on hold. The government is even considering implementing an odd-even vehicle regulation system to limit the number of vehicles on the road, determined by the last digit of their registration number.

After experiencing 'Very Poor' air quality for two days, Saturday's shift back to 'Severe' underscores the volatile nature of Delhi's air quality and the continuous challenge it presents. These measures reflect the city's urgent response to safeguard its residents' health against the hazardous pollution levels.