As AQI improves, Delhi govt lifts restrictions; schools to reopen from Nov 9

With Delhi’s air quality showing slight improvement, the Aam Aadmi Party government has decided to reopen primary schools from Wednesday, November 9. Curbs on outdoor activities for secondary schools will also be lifted from Wednesday.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai, briefing the press said, entry of trucks into Delhi will be allowed and the ban on linear projects such as highways, flyovers, and roads has been lifted.

He added that petrol BS III and diesel BS-IV vehicles will remain banned. However, directions for work from home for government offices have been amended.

The minister cited forecasts and said they are showing AQI will largely stay in the ‘very poor’ category. He added further action will depend on the air quality, which is likely to fluctuate.

Also read: With AQI at 408, air quality remains in ‘severe’ category in Delhi

Last week, AAP government had announced mandatory 50 per cent work-from-home for government offices, and a similar advisory was issued for private offices.

What led to AQI improvement?

Delhi’s Air Quality Index dropped from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ category after a change in wind direction due to south-easterlies.

Speaking to The Federal, Vijay Kumar Soni, head of the environment monitoring and research centre at the IMD said: “The AQI will start improving faster now as surface wind will pick up to enhance dispersion and the direction of stubble transport wind also is changing.”

However, he added that the relief is short-lived. AQI will start deteriorating from Tuesday evening as the stubble wind will again turn from the burning side, observed Soni.

Prior to Saturday, the wind direction had been north-westerly, which means it was bringing stubble emissions directly to the capital. Now, the wind direction is largely switching between north-easterly and south-easterly. The change in wind direction also led to an increase in Delhi’s minimum temperature over the last 48 hours.

CAQM removes Stage IV provisions 

Meanwhile, the Centre for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the government’s air quality panel, on Sunday revoked the strict provisions under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) — an emergency response action plan aimed at preventing further deterioration of adverse air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Speaking on various stages under GRAP, Polash Mukherjee, lead on Air Quality at Natural Resources Defence Council, said there can be a relook on the stages and stricter norms may be enforced on the slightest deterioration of the air quality in Delhi and NCR. Reflecting on the overall reading (‘very poor’) and its impact he said: “The air is bad enough to cause serious health hazards among children and the elderly. The drop-down of stages under the GRAP should not be celebrated but one has to look at the larger air quality in the vicinity.”

Also read: Bad air quality not just Delhi’s problem, Centre needs to step in: Kejriwal

Tackling the real issue

Mukherjee, commenting on the seriousness of the issue, added that there is an inordinate focus on problems and solutions particularly focusing on Delhi.

Even though the capital has close to two crore people residing here, in terms of sources of pollution and the geography, Delhi shouldn’t bear the maximum brunt, he said. It is very misleading to point towards Delhi as the only major source of pollution and focus on the city completely. The solution has to be regional, and not Delhi-specific, he said, adding, the governments in the NCR need to play a crucial role in curbing the pollution menace in Delhi.

Citing the example of industries, Mukherjee said, there are four types of industries in terms of pollution potential — Red, Orange, Green and White. In Delhi, since 1990s, Red category of industries have been banned. But they have shifted to the outskirts of Delhi, he pointed out. So, a long-term measure needs to weigh in the revenue potential versus the far-reaching consequences on environment and human health.

Taking stakeholders on board

Considering suggestions from the public and experts that early precautionary measures can prevent deterioration in air quality, the CAQM had decided to implement GRAP early this year. But the risk is far from over as the air quality still hovers around the ‘very poor’ category.

Also read: Delhi’s worsening air pollution sparks a meme fest on Twitter

The decision has been taken as the CAQM revoked Stage four of the Graded Response Action Plan in the entire National Capital Region on Monday.