AAP to protest against Punjab, Haryana on stubble burning today
As contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution on Wednesday increased to 35 per cent — the season’s highest — Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday requested Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Governments to provide machinery to farmers to stop crop fires.
Pollution levels peaked with the Air Quality Index (AQI) rising to 427.
As hazardous haze shrouded the Capital with stubble burning being held as primary reason by the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitor SAFAR, the AAP said it will hold a protest on Thursday outside Haryana and Punjab Bhawan over “their the failure of the two States in curbing stubble burning”.
Kejriwal said, “Everyone can see how polluted the air is since Tuesday. Delhi is choking because of the stubble burning in the neighbouring States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. I have spoken to many farmers from the States of Punjab and Haryana and they say they are ready to stop burning stubble if they get a viable alternative, like machinery to dispose of farm remains in a environment-friendly way. The farmers are ready, but there is a lack of effort by the Governments.”
Concerned about students who may become target of Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CoPD), Education Minister Manish Sisodia said decision to shut schools will be taken when the need arises. “We will take a decision to shut schools based on regular situation. When the need arises, we will take this step,” Sisodia said.
The Delhi Government will also distribute N-95 mask to students on November 1.
SAFAR has clearly mentioned that the overall air quality of Delhi after recovering from firecrackers smoke has again plunged into severe. “Air quality has plunged into severe since wee hours of today (Wednesday) purely attributed to stubble fire which has touched season’s highest share of 35 per cent today. Last night’s extremely calm Delhi surface wind conditions as expected, further aggravated the situation by accumulation of pollutants,” SAFAR said in its trending summery of air pollution.
Importantly, with 428 and 277 Microgram per cubic concentration of Suspended Particulate Matters (SPMs) - PM (10, 2.5), SAFAR recommended people to avoid all outdoor activities.
Meanwhile, Anand Vihar and Wazirpur were most polluted area with AQI 464 and 462 while NSIT, Dwarka were the least polluted with 355 AQI.
NCR regions were tagged as worst with abnormally high values which were 478 (Ghaziabad), 440 (Greater Noida) and 451 (Noida).
Extremely calm surface winds and Northwesterly winds were the reason behind slow dispersion of pollutants. “A marginal improvement in the air quality is predicted on Thursday due to an expected increase in wind speed which will help disperse pollutants faster. On Thursday, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution is predicted to be 27 per cent. It was 25 per cent on Tuesday,” SAFAR said.
Air quality forecast : SAFAR(MoES)
Pollutants Wednesday (Oct 30) Thursday (Oct 31) Friday (Nov1) Advisory
AQI 427 (Severe) NA NA Severe
PM 10 428 (Severe) 394(VeryPoor) 312(very Poor) Very Poor
PM 2.5 277(Severe) 254(severe) 202(Very Poor) Very Poor)
Photo : Ranjan Dimri
