Delhi's air quality remains 'very poor' at 312 despite marginal improvement

New Delhi, Jan 22: Delhi continued to grapple with 'very poor' air quality on Thursday morning, even as there was a marginal improvement in pollution levels, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 312 around 7 am, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Although the AQI showed a slight improvement compared to Wednesday morning, when it stood at 341, pollution levels across the national capital remained firmly in the 'very poor' category. The prolonged deterioration in air quality continues to pose serious health concerns, especially for children, the elderly and those suffering from respiratory illnesses.

Several parts of the national capital recorded high pollution levels. As per CPCB, Anand Vihar registered an AQI of 379, Ashok Vihar at 333, and Wazirpur at 336. Other hotspots included Punjabi Bagh (338), RK Puram (359), Bawana (323), ITO (331), Chandni Chowk (361) and Dwarka Sector 8 (342), all falling in the 'very poor' category.

As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported moderate to dense fog at several locations in Delhi. The temperature in the city was around 7.4 degrees Celsius at 7 am, further adding to the challenging weather conditions being faced by residents.

In view of the deteriorating air quality, the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to double the existing parking charges at authorised parking sites whenever the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage III ('Severe' air quality with AQI between 401-450) and GRAP Stage IV ('Severe Plus' with AQI above 450) are invoked.

The decision aims to discourage the use of private vehicles during periods of extreme pollution.
According to the notification, parking spaces owned and managed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have been exempted from the doubling of parking charges.

As per the notification, a comprehensive study on air pollution and greenhouse gases 2015, conducted by IIT Kanpur, said that vehicles contribute about 19.7 per cent of PM10 and 25.1 per cent of PM2.5 in winters and about 6.4 per cent of PM10 and 8.5 per cent of PM2.5 in summers. Vehicles contribute to about 18 per cent of CH4 emissions, 92 per cent of N2O emissions and 30 per cent of CO2 emissions in the city, based on annual emissions.

A total of about 82.4 lakhs vehicles are registered in Delhi. There are about 677 parking facilities available with approved parking capacity for about 1,06,037 number of vehicles (excluding vehicles being parked in 91 parking areas of DMRC).

The notification further stated that the decision also follows directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which instructed the government to provide destination buses and make concerted efforts to discourage the use of private vehicles, including two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles, to curb air pollution in the national capital.