Delhi. Can’t breathe. can’t move; AQI inches closer to severe
Delhi's air quality has reached 'very poor' levels and is trending toward 'severe' due to increased stubble burning and local emissions. Authorities have issued show-cause notices to district officials as pollution levels are expected to remain high through the week.
Why it matters
The worsening air quality poses a major public health crisis for the capital, prompting strict government interventions and construction bans.
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further within very poor levels Wednesday, inching closer to the severe category. Local emission sources contributed 31% and external sources 69% to overall air pollution in the city, with the contribution of stubble burning spiking to 16.2% against 8.2% Tuesday.The air quality index (AQI), on a scale of 0 to 500, was 377 against 350 a day earlier at 4pm. The pollution monitoring agencies are anticipating the pollution levels to spike further to severe by Friday.According to IITM’s forecast, the share of pollution from stubble burning in neighbouring states has drastically increased, with Decision Support System’s models predicting the share to rise to 20% by Friday, more than the share of vehicular pollution, which so far had dominated the city’s emission inventory.Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Wednesday issued show-cause notices over stubble burning to the district commissioners and the SSPs of five districts…
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