Delhi's air quality deteriorates to 'very poor' as smog covers the capital

Representative image

A thin layer of pollution covered the national capital on Monday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) dropping to 349 at 8 am, putting it in the 'Very Poor' category.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI in Shakurpur and nearby areas was 346, placing them in the 'Very Poor' category. India Gate and surrounding neighbourhoods had an AQI of 309, while Safdarjung had 307, both classified as 'Very Poor', reported ANI.

How this Bandra bookstall is keeping the tradition of newspaper reading alive

1 year agoPHOTO GALLERY

Kushal Chaudhary, a resident and college student, shared his struggles with the rising pollution levels. "I am a college student and I have to leave for my college early in the morning. I have been facing difficulties in breathing because of the rising pollution. Firecrackers have been banned here but despite that yesterday on Karwa Chauth, there were so many crackers burnt. The government needs to step up and take control of the pollution," Kushal told ANI.

Reportedly, toxic foam was also seen floating in the Yamuna River as pollution levels continued to increase. Environmentalist Vimlendu K Jha raised alarm about the continuous river pollution, portraying it as a failure of Delhi's environmental administration.

"We have yet again seen river Yamuna having a lot of froth floating on its surface. It is an absolute travesty of environmental governance in Delhi...we have seen the sources of pollution which are primarily Delhi, and of course, the Delhi government would like to blame this on other states. Indeed there are other states also that are responsible because Yamuna flows through these states but the primary responsibility for Yamuna's pollution is Delhi's pollution, the 17 drains that empty into Yamuna in Delhi," Jha told ANI.

Professor Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Dean of the Kotak School of Sustainability at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, had previously explained the dangers of the foam on the Yamuna. He told the news agency, "The effect of froth on the Yamuna River is dangerous. The frequent occurrence of froth is primarily due to the large amounts of surfactants from soap, detergents, and other pollutants in untreated wastewater flowing into the river."

Studies have shown that the presence of water and organic compounds in such conditions promotes secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation by increasing the partitioning of volatile organic compounds into the air. This effect is more pronounced in urban areas with high pollution, such as the Yamuna River, the ANI report stated.