Delhi's air quality in ‘poor’ category, Mumbai falls in 'very poor’

AQI LIVE Updates: The overall air quality in Delhi worsened on Saturday morning as the Air Quality Index (ADI) hovered around 286 at 6:30 am, according to the data revealed by monitoring agencies.

The average AQI in Noida also stood above 300, while in Rohtak, the air quality was 363, 341 in Karnal, 333 in Ghaziabad, 200 in Gurugram, and 303 in Faridabad. The air quality is in the 'very poor' category at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus today.

As per the AQI scale, the air quality check between 0 and 50 is "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 450 "severe".

The Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. There are six AQI categories, namely Good Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.

Catch all Updates on AQI levels in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities here:

Stubble burning contributing to Delhi's pollution likely to reduce this year: Gopal Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said that the number of stubble-burning incidents that had been contributing to Delhi pollution is expected to reduce.

Centre should provide compensation, says Sukhbir Singh Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday demanded that the Central Government should provide a compensation package or make arrangements to purchase the stubble as the blame game continues between neighboring Haryana and Punjab governments over the deteriorating air pollution.

"The government should provide compensation or make arrangements to purchase the stubble. Sardar Parkash Singh Badal (late Chief Minister of Punjab) built 12-13 power plants that used to function with stubble, but later, Captain Amarinder Singh (government) came, and they didn't do anything... The central government should provide a compensation package," Badal told ANI.

Environmentalists say 'improve public transport facilities’

Improvement in public transport facilities, smog guns at construction sites and strengthening the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) as an institution are some of the measures suggested by environmentalists to combat the deteriorating air quality in the national capital.

Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said consistent efforts to address sources of pollution and implement systemic changes are required to combat air pollution in Delhi NCR.

"Consistent efforts to address pollution sources and implement systemic changes are required. Smog towers, guns, and sprinklers are like applying band-aids on a deep fracture. We need smog guns, but they should be mandatory equipment at construction sites throughout the year, not mere photo ops," Kandhari told PTI.

‘15-point winter action plan being implemented’, says Gopal Rai

On Friday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that a 15-point winter action plan is being implemented one by one to curb the pollution.

"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce the pollution in the national capital," Rai told ANI.

The Delhi Minister said that since one of the major causes of the pollution is vehicles, they have started the 'Red Light on, Gaadi off' campaign on Thursday.

Haryana points fingers at Delhi and Punjab over pollution

Jawahar Yadav, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar's OSD (Officer on Special Duty) has targeted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab over the issue of stubble burning.

"There is data from NASA of October 25 and 26, which clearly shows where there is stubble burning in Punjab and in Haryana. More than double stubble burning has occurred in Punjab as compared to Haryana. The Haryana government has brought it down. The silence of Arvind Kejriwal about the NASA data creates suspicion. He has alleged that Indian agencies are not giving data on pollution. Why does he need it now? The Punjab government has failed, and Arvind Kejriwal's face has been exposed in front of the public," Jawahar Yadav, OSD to Haryana CM said.

'Stubble burning contribution to Delhi's pollution likely to reduce this year', says Gopal Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday that the number of stubble-burning incidents recorded in neighboring states so far is fewer than last year, and the overall contribution of farm fires to the city's air pollution is expected to reduce.

However, he cautioned that air pollution may increase in the coming days due to unfavorable meteorological conditions.

Only around 2,500 stubble-burning incidents have been recorded so far, compared to 5,000 such cases during the same period last year, he told reporters here.