Notch away from emergency, Delhi braces for worse air

The worsening air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) has spawned panic-stricken reactions, with the Delhi government reaching out to neighbouring states and considering restrictions on plying of vehicles in the city and shutting down schools.

Delhi’s air quality index has breached the ‘severe’ category with particulate matter (PM 2.5) crossing 450 microgram per cubic metre level. After the Delhi government decided to shut down schools, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to his counterparts in Punjab and Haryana seeking their cooperation in tackling air pollution.

“One of the main reasons for this poor quality of air in Delhi during this part of the year is the burning of (crop) stubble in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Farmers are helpless in the absence of economically viable alternatives; they are forced to burn stubble. The government has failed to provide them economically viable solutions,” Kejriwal said in letters to Manohar Lal Khattar and Amarinder Singh, chief ministers, respectively, of Haryana and Punjab.

The Delhi government has ordered all schools to shut down till Sunday. According to the graded response action plan for Delhi and the National Capital Region, the air quality is now in the ‘severe’ category and if these conditions prevail it will reach the ‘emergency’ category. At that point, entry of trucks into Delhi could be halted, construction activity stopped, movement of passenger vehicles restricted and parking fees enhanced.