Delhi’s Air Quality To Get Worse As Diwali Stands Few Days Ahead; Which Area Recorded ‘Severe’ AQI?

Delhi: The national capital faced another day of bad air quality on Saturday, with pollution levels in some neighbourhoods reaching alarming heights. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that the city’s average air quality index (AQI) was 278, a slight improvement from the previous day’s 292. However, the situation remains critical, as this marks the fourth consecutive day of pollution levels categorised as “very poor” or worse.

Anand Vihar Worst Affected

Among the worst-affected areas, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 450 by 4 PM, firmly placing it in the “severe” category for the entire day. Other neighbourhoods also experienced high pollution levels, including Wazirpur (349), Bawana (345), Dwarka Sector 8 (328), Rohini (322), and Shadipur (306), which all fell into the “very poor” range.

Predictions of Further Deterioration

Forecasts from the Early Warning System (EWS) indicate that air quality is expected to worsen in the coming days, as per a TH report. The EWS has warned that the air quality could remain in the “very poor” category from Sunday to Tuesday, with a continuing trend of poor to very poor conditions for the following week. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai attributed the worsening air quality to changing weather patterns and expected additional deterioration post-Deepavali.

Pollution levels have been climbing since the Dasara celebrations on October 12, leading the government to impose restrictions on construction activities and ban firecrackers to mitigate the pollution crisis.

Government Actions and Criticism

To combat rising pollution, government officials have inspected 2,764 construction sites since October 7 as part of an anti-dust pollution campaign, resulting in fines totalling ₹17.40 lakh from 76 violators. A total of 523 teams from 13 different departments have been mobilised for inspections and enforcement.

However, the inspection efforts faced criticism from Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, who labelled the initiative as mere “tokenism.” He pointed out that if each of the 523 teams conducted just two inspections over 12 days, their efforts seemed insufficient in addressing the city's severe pollution challenges.