Pollution Live Meters Installed At 6 Places In Delhi

Air quality continued to remain “very poor” in Delhi on Saturday, the second day of implementing the odd-even policy, even though the Delhi government claimed that pollutant levels showed a “marked decrease”, PTI reported.

Yesterday, pollutant levels dipped by around 10% on an average between 8am to 2pm as compared to the previous two days, “possibly” due to the odd-even restrictions, before rising sharply afterwards with a fall in day-time temperature, SAFAR scientists said.

Figures available with IndiaSpend, a data journalism initiative, show that the scheme which is mainly aimed at curbing the increasing pollution levels, has not shown the desired results so far. This is nine times the normal level of 100 ìg/m3.

This was, in fact, one of the most polluted days in the city after 11 November, Diwali day, when pollution levels hit an alarming high. PM 2.5 are the particulate matter capable of causing harm to human respiration, if present above permissible levels.

The corresponding protected restrict of PM 10 is one hundred. Officials of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) had said on Thursday that air quality in Delhi was expected to deteriorate over the next few days with a fall in minimum temperature and calm wind movement. On December 31, at the same time, the PM 10 and PM 2.5 stood at 134 and 58 units respectively.In Punjabi Bagh area, there was a slight increase in the pollution level over the previous day during the peak time, around 1730 hours. For instance, on 1 November, 2015, Anand Vihar’s PM 10 reading from 8-9 pm was 676 ìg/m3.

SAFAR stations, located in various areas the city, displayed “very poor” real-time Air Quality Index, which was in line with the forecast of the Union government body that was released on Friday.

Areas like Rohtas Nagar, Patparganj and Kondli bordering Uttar Pradesh showed higher air pollution levels compared with areas towards central Delhi, the government said. Kejriwal will be carpooling with transport minister Gopal Rai and home minister Satyendar Jain. “If this segment is left out and with a sizeable number of cars also being driven by women, who have been exempted, the overall effectiveness of the programme is compromised”.

To augment public transport as part of efforts to ensure the success of the odd-even plan, an additional 3,000 buses have been deployed in the city while Delhi Metro is running an additional 70 trips.

Starting today, Delhiites will have to pick up their vehicle keys on the basis of odd and even number plates.