As of Wednesday, November 22, at 6:30 am, Delhi’s air quality index was 348, falling into the “very poor” category, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
AQIs are classified as follows: ‘good’ between zero and fifty, ‘satisfactory’ between 51 and 100,’moderate’ between 101 and 200, ‘poor’ between 201 and 300,’very poor’ between 301 and 400,’severe’ between 401 and 450, and ‘severe plus’ above 450.
The National Green Tribunal directed the authorities to “take all reasonable measures to improve the quality of the air in Delhi” after expressing unhappiness with their efforts to reduce air pollution.
A further action taken report has to be produced within a week, the court instructed, taking suo motu (on its own) note of a media report reporting the deteriorating air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The statement from the authorities on November 20 stated, “The air quality index of Delhi does not indicate any significant improvement, so it is difficult to accept the stand of different authorities that they are taking all possible measures to control air pollution and improve the quality of air.”
The NGT asserts that in order to protect the public’s health, the relevant authorities need to act to enhance the quality of the air in the nation’s capital.
Noting the Air Quality Index (AQI) for November 9–19, a court led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava of the National Green Tribunal stated on Monday, “In a block of past 11 days the air quality was severe for three days, very poor for five days, and poor for three days.” As a result, we see no appreciable improvement.
The Delhi government has filed an extra action-taken report to demonstrate that steps have been taken to decrease air pollution, according to the bench, which also included Expert Member A Senthil Vel and Justice Sudhir Agarwal.
It stated, “It has been pointed out that only measures relating to controlling dust emission using dust suppressants have been found to be effective…,” citing the CPCB report. The draught report on this topic, which was received from IIT Bombay, is currently being reviewed. Pilot research aimed at assessing the possibility of lowering air pollution in metropolitan areas through the use of outdoor cleaning devices, commonly known as Smog Towers, is currently being evaluated
