Air quality in Delhi severe again; farm fires major contributor

Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs dropped to the severe category again on Wednesday morning with smoke from postharvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for onethird of the air pollution in the national capitalThe citys Air Quality Index AQI stood at 421 worsening from 395 at 4 pm on TuesdayDespite a marginal dip the concentration of PM25 fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory system and triggering health problems exceeded the governmentprescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times in the capitalIt was 30 to 40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organisation WHOSeveral cities across the IndoGangetic plains reported hazardous air quality Neighbouring Ghaziabad 382 Gurugram 370 Noida 348 Greater Noida 474 and Faridabad 396 also reported hazardous air qualityAccording to data from the Decision Support System a numerical modelbased framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi stubble burning in neighbouring states especially Punjab and Haryana accounted for 37 percent of the air pollution in Delhi on Tuesday It is likely to be 33 percent on WednesdayThe Delhi government on Monday announced the return of its flagship oddeven scheme after four years anticipating further deterioration of air quality postDiwaliThe oddeven scheme under which cars are allowed to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates will be implemented between November 13 and November 20The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago EPIC and Evidence for Policy Design had analysed the impact of the oddeven system in 2016 and found that Delhi saw a 1416 per cent reduction in PM25 levels during the hours it remained in force in January that year However there was no reduction in pollution when the scheme was brought back in April that yearTo protect the health of school children the government also decided to suspend inperson classes in all schools except for students in grades X and XII preparing for board exams until November 10According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Air Quality Early Warning System for DelhiNCR the region is likely to experience severe air quality for another five to six daysDoctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a dayProlonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD and can dramatically raise the risk of cardiovascular disease said Rajesh Chawla senior consultant in pulmonology and critical care at the Indraprastha Apollo HospitalStringent restrictions mandated under the final stage of the Central governments air pollution control plan for DelhiNCR called the Graded Response Action Plan GRAP have also been implemented in DelhiThe restrictions under stage IV of GRAP including a ban on all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into the capital took effect on Sunday after air quality in the capital dropped to severe plus AQI above 450 levelsGRAP categorises actions into four stages Stage I Poor AQI 201300 Stage II Very Poor AQI 301400 Stage III Severe AQI 401450 and Stage IV Severe Plus AQI above 450Unfavourable meteorological conditions combined with vehicular emissions paddy straw burning firecrackers and other local pollution sources contribute to hazardous air quality levels in DelhiNCR during the winter every yearAccording to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC analysis the capital experiences peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when the number of stubbleburning incidents in Punjab and Haryana increasesAir quality in DelhiNCR declined over the last two weeks due to a gradual drop in temperatures calm winds that trap pollution and a surge in postharvest paddy straw burning across Punjab and HaryanaDelhis air quality ranks among the worst in the worlds capital citiesA report by EPIC in August said that air pollution is shortening lives by almost 12 years in Delhi