Delhi air pollution: AQI cross 'hazardous' 600 mark, visibility drops

A thick blanket of smog engulfed several parts of Delhi on Sunday morning pushing its air pollution levels into hazardous territory. Visibility dropped significantly in the national capital as pollutants hovered in the atmosphere. Notably, for the first time in this season, the Air Quality Index (AQI) docked as high as 625 at 10 am despite light drizzles in the early hours.

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An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is the "severe-plus emergency" category. The AQI recorded in Dhirpur was 509, while Delhi University saw a reading of 591. The Chandni Chowk area recorded an AQI of 432 while in Lodhi road it was 537.

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Delhi's satellite cities of Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh also saw their air quality deteriorate beyond the hazardous 600 marks. People residing in these areas complained of eye irritation and suffocation due to poor air quality. "We are athletes and have most of the events in the winter seasons. This thick smog is affecting our health making it difficult to breathe in the poisonous air. The government must do something about it," said Prashant Shukla, a local from Ghaziabad. Mukul Sharma, another resident of Ghaziabad said, "I am coughing too much these days. I do not know how to safeguard myself from increasing air pollution. The government must tighten the noose around stubble burning."

Construction ban in Noida

Meanwhile, the Noida Authority conducted checking at various construction sites in the Gautam Budh Nagar area and arrested 27 people for flouting the construction ban. "The construction is banned in Noida from November 1 to 5. We have conducted checking at sector 75, 35 and 72. We have arrested 27 people for flouting the ban. We will continue to conduct checks at construction sites," said an official from Noida Authority.

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Government response

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday announced a string of measures aimed at curbing ar pollution. This includes the reintroduction of the Odd-Even scheme from November 4 to 15, 2019 and staggered office timings for government offices. Kejriwal has also asked the Capt Amarinder Singh government in Punjab and Manohar Khattar government in Haryana to do more to combat rampant stubble burning in their state.

(With ANI inputs)

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