The India Meteorological Department has said relief was unlikely until after Sunday when calm wind conditions are predicted to emerge making dispersion of pollutants difficult
A motorcyclist drives on the wrong side of the road amidst morning haze and toxic smog in New Delhi. AP
Delhi witnessed a slight improvement in the air quality on Thursday morning, but the capital continues to gasp as the air quality index continued to be in the ‘very poor’ category for the fifth consecutive day.
On Thursday morning, the AQI in Delhi was 362, notches below Wednesday’s recording of 379.
The Delhi government on Wednesday announced that all educational institutions will remain shut till further orders and also extended the ban on construction and demolition till 21 November. The government also ordered that all Delhi employees work from home till Sunday.
“We have also given instructions for a ban on the entry of all vehicles in Delhi, except those involved in essential services,” Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
Trucks entering the national capital at the Delhi-Gurugram border were being checked by Delhi police on Thursday morning so as to follow the ban on vehicles.
Authorities had announced that the capital would not witness any major improvement till Sunday.
The India Meteorological Department had said relief was unlikely until after Sunday when calm wind conditions are predicted to emerge making dispersion of pollutants difficult.
The air crisis is so severe that even the Supreme Court has taken up the matter.
On Wednesday, the apex court was hearing a plea relating to air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas. The plea had been filed by environmental activist Aditya Dubey and law student Aman Banka, who sought directions to provide stubble-removing machines to small and marginal farmers for free.
Speaking on the matter, the Supreme Court had noted that “debates on TV news channels are causing more pollution than anybody“.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana also said, “Enough is enough. We cannot get into all the nitty gritty of the issue. You please take the steps to deal with the emergency situation.”
Meanwhile, the Haryana government is also mulling to implement the odd-even vehicular scheme to reduce air pollution, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khatttar said, as per ANI reports. The move comes as Gurugram recorded an AQI reading of 344.
With inputs from agencies