Delhi chokes amid rising air pollution, AQI crosses 400 at...

The air quality of Delhi NCR is seeing yet another downward spiral as the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital’s Anand Vihar area was recorded at a whopping 400, categorised as ‘Severe’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 7 a.m. AQI at the Akshardham Temple deteriorated 261, whereas IGI airport recorded an AQI of 324, both categorized as ‘very poor.’

A layer of thick smog enveloped certain parts of the city. Himanshu, a visitor to the national capital said that the increasing pollution feels 'suffocating.'"It feels suffocating due to pollution...The govt should look into what can be done to reduce pollution," he told ANI. 

Moreover, a cyclist in the city told ANI that they are facing a lot of problems with breathing. "We are from Delhi and we (the cyclist group) cycle daily here, but this situation of air pollution since the last few days we are facing a lot of problems. We can't breathe properly, we get tired faster due to the pollution. We take precautions like wearing a bandana but nothing is working because the pollution is increasing a lot," he said. 

He further said that the measures taken by the government don't seem effective enough, and the government should encourage the people to use public transport more. "The government did some work like stopping construction and implementing odd-even but it doesn't seem like it is working as this is increasing day by day. There should be constructive measures to encourage people to use public transport and carpooling," he added. 

As the festival of lights nears, the Delhi government has also banned firecrackers till January 1 amid efforts to curb pollution levels. Moreover, toxic foam on the Yamuna river in the Kalindi Kunj area persisted. Earlier the pollution in the river became a topic of hot political debate between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with BJP leader Shazia Ilmi criticizing the Delhi government for its handling of the city's worsening pollution crisis, highlighting the alarming presence of toxic foam in the River Yamuna and the resulting breathing difficulties for residents.

"BJP leader Virendraa Sachdeva has fallen ill. Two days ago he took a dip in the Yamuna river. Today he is admitted to the hospital...This is an issue connected to the health of the public of Delhi. Where have the Rs 3000 crore meant for the public of Delhi and Yamuna river?... The public of Delhi is not able to breathe...Toxic foam is floating on the Yamuna River," Ilmi told ANI.

Notably, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai criticsed the BJP, accusing it of contributing to the increasing pollution in the national capital. 

"The BJP is the party that creates pollution and seems to believe that only drama can solve it. I think all governments and parties need to work together. I wish them good health, but stopping these theatrics alone won't reduce pollution. This reflects the BJP leaders' level of understanding. When I was preparing the winter action plan, I had written to the BJP President, but no response or suggestions have come so far," he told ANI. 

The air quality index from 0 to 100 is considered 'good', 100 to 200 'moderate', 200 to 300 'poor', 300 to 400 'very poor' and from 400 to 500 or above 'severe'.

(with inputs from ANI)