Delhi's AQI improves mildly but remains in 'very poor' category

The national capitals air quality saw some improvement on Wednesday morning with an AQI of 328 as against 377 a day ago even as smog blanketed the cityThe air quality in the city at 9 am was in the very poor categoryOut of the 40 air quality monitoring stations recorded 30 were in the very poor category with Bawana registering the poorest air quality of 376 according to the Central Pollution Control Boards Sameer appAn AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good 51 to 100 satisfactory 101 to 200 moderate 201 to 300 poor 301 to 400 very poor and 401 to 500 severeSeveral parts of the city were seen covered in smog and fog during the early morning hours leading to reduced visibilityDelhis minimum temperature of 104 degrees Celsius on Monday is 23 degrees above normal The maximum temperature is expected to hover at 24 degrees CelsiusThe humidity was recorded at 100 per cent with IMD forecasting moderate fog for the dayEarlier Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced strict measures to curb vehicular pollution in the national capital The minister stated that starting December 18 vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate PUCC will not be supplied fuel at petrol pumps in Delhi according to an official releaseAddressing the press conference Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said To control tailpipe emissions from vehicles all petroldieselCNG pump dealers have been instructed to provide fuel only upon presentation of a valid PUCCHe further added For the protection of Delhis air all vehicles registered outside Delhi and of a category lower than BSVI will not be allowed to enter Delhi when GRAPIII and GRAPIV are implemented No polluting vehicle will be allowed to enter DelhiHe further stated that when GRAPIV is in force vehicles carrying any kind of construction material will also be barred from entering DelhiThe Minister said that PUCC and vehicle categories will be verified through Automatic Number Plate Recognition ANPR systems and groundlevel checksWhile announcing strict measures he appealed to citizens to carry valid PUCC certificates to avoid inconvenience Sirsa said the current government has implemented scientific datadriven measures to control pollutionHe said In 8 out of the 11 months better air quality has been recorded compared to the previous year Even in a critical month like November the average AQI remained approximately 20 points lower than last year This is a result of daily stringent actions and structural reformsAddressing Delhi residents Sirsa said pollution cannot be entirely eliminated in 910 months but the direction and intent are clear with daily efforts to reduce the AQI He urged vehicle owners to obtain valid PUCC certificates and comply with the new rules stating that the government remains committed to providing Delhi with clean air and a pollutionfree futureWith inputs from Agencies