The air quality in the National Capital is deteriorating with each passing day as the AQI level is recorded in the ‘severe plus’ category. The senior citizens and the children studying in schools are facing breathing issues and itchiness in eyes.
Meanwhile, after the continuous rise in the air pollution, the Delhi Government has decided to shut down the schools and asked the teachers to go for online classes instead.
The real source of air pollution, which no one wants to talk about.
No politician, environmentalist, activist, poet, or artist is speaking out because it would jeopardize their pro-farmer image. — Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree)
However, all the senior citizens have been advised to stay indoors considering the rise in air-pollution or wear masks if its important to step outside the house.
The senior doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences have laid down some precautions for citizens to prevent themselves from the toxic air. Take a look.
Precautionary Measures to Prevent Yourself from Toxic-Air
• Always wear masks while stepping outside the house
• Avoid travelling if you can, rather stay at home and use an Air-Purifier
• Drink plenty of liquids and cover your mouth if you are moving in traffic.
• Do visit the doctor, if you suffer from breathing difficulties.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) at 424 as of 9 am today, placing it in the ‘severe’ category.
Visuals from near India Gate showed people carrying out their daily morning walks, while others jog on the Kartavya Path amidst layer of smog filled atmosphere.
Meanwhile, movement of trains continued amid smog in Delhi. Visuals from New Delhi Railway Station showed a layer of haze covering the area.
Moreover, 13 trains have been running late and 9 trains have been rescheduled as a result of the smog, said the Railways.
Delhi Environment Minister on Air-Pollution
Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, urging him to convene an emergency meeting with the Delhi Government, IIT Kanpur, and central government departments such as the DGCA, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defense. The meeting would aim to discuss the immediate implementation of cloud seeding as an emergency measure.
The Environment Minister Gopal Rai stated, “The time has come to carry out artificial rainfall to break the smog layer. Last year, the Delhi Government, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, explored cloud seeding as an emergency measure to induce rain and reduce air pollution during critical periods. This year, we began preparations in August for cloud seeding, but despite several requests, a meeting has not yet been held.”
प्रदुषण कम करने के लिए दिल्ली सरकार ने सरकारी दफ़्तरो में वर्क फ्रॉम होम का लिया निर्णय
50% कर्मचारी करेंगे घर से काम
इसके इम्पलिमेंटेशन के लिए सचिवालय में आज दोपहर 1 बजे अधिकारियों के साथ होगी बैठक — Gopal Rai (@AapKaGopalRai)
Let’s also take a look at what causes Air-Pollution:
Air Pollution is caused by liquid particles and gases that are suspended in the air.
These small particles and gases can come from vehicles, cars, trucks, wildfires and volcanoes.
However, due to the toxic air, people are likely to suffer from some health issues, some of them are Asthma, kidney disease, obesity, breast cancer, lung diseases etc.
Horrible state of affairs in Delhi NCR. Can curbing pollution become a priority for our governments. We’re loosing 21.8 lakh people because of pollution in India annually. — Dr Ritesh Malik (@drriteshmalik)
However, every year with the rise in the pollution level, the political parties begin to blame each other instead of finding solutions to get rid of the problem.
How the Odd-Even Policy Worked
Meanwhile, Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also launched a lot of campaigns to curb the pollution level in the city like adopting the Odd-Even policy.
In the odd even policy, Vehicles with registration numbers ending in even digits (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) are allowed on the roads on even dates, while those with registration numbers ending in odd digits (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) are permitted on odd dates. The scheme operates from 8 am to 8 pm, restricting vehicular movement based on this alternating pattern.
However, this scheme was not implemented this year, but the Delhi Environment Minister said in a statement that they are looking for ways and discussing with their team of members if they can again launch the odd-even plan in the National Capital to curb the rise in air pollution.
Meanwhile the top court had instructed all the governments in the NCR to make sure the Grap-4 measure is implemented till the Air Quality Index touches 300.
