Delhi air pollution: NGT calls it an emergency situation; seeks action taken report from state governments in the region

NEW DELHI: Terming the pollution in Delhi an emergency situation, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday directed the government of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to inform it about what preventive steps were taken to tackle air pollution.

The tribunal has sought a reply from the state governments by November 9, 2017.

Delhi was on Tuesday engulfed in a blanket of smoke forcing the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to declare a public health emergency. Pollution levels breached the permissible standards by multiple times on Tuesday.

Reacting to the situation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "Delhi has become a gas chamber. Every year this happens during this part of year. We have to find a soln to crop burning in adjoining states." 

The rapid fall in air quality and visibility began on Monday evening as moisture combined with pollutants shrouded the city in a thick cover of haze. By 10 am on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded 'severe' air quality, meaning the intensity of pollution was extreme.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in East Delhi's Dilshad Garden was 420, whereas it was 319 in Anand Vihar. The pollution was recorded highest in Punjabi Bagh with AQI 999 and 852 in RK Puram.

The air quality in Dwarka and NCR also hovered between 400-420. AQI level from 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 is 'satisfactory' 101-200 is 'moderate', 201-300 is 'poor', 301-400 is 'very poor', and 401 and above is 'severe'.

The issue comes to the fore every year as farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh set fire to the stubble of their crop during this time of the year to clear the fields for the next sowing season. Combined with falling temperatures, this causes heavy smoke and smog throughout the area. 

In 2016 also, the situation was worse than ever before as smoke from the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand too descended to the plains.