On January 1, the city can expect to wake up to vigilant traffic police and a slew of volunteers brought in by the Aam Aadmi Party to help with keeping cars in check on the roads.
As a parting shot to a barely breathable year, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) shot up to 'Very Poor', from the relief of the 'Poor' days it had seen. On a day unusually hot for December 31, the
On a day unusually hot for December 31, the AQI reading at 386 came as the final reminder of how desperately the city needs measures to check air pollutants, even as the government and the police geared up for the highly debated odd even car plan to be implemented from today.
On January 1, the city can expect to wake up to vigilant traffic police and a slew of volunteers brought in by the Aam Aadmi Party to help with keeping cars in check on the roads. New Year's eve saw the preparations in full swing with AAP volunteers doing dry runs at various points in the city, some dressed up as Kejriwal to encourage residents to follow the odd/even rules.
Even though by their own admission, the Central Pollution Control Board does not have an accurate forecasting model ready yet, to predict exactly how much the pollution levels will be affected by the plan, hope is held out for a substantial reduction.
DC Jakhwal, scientist at the Air Laboratory, CPCB, had previously told dna that even though collecting exact data on the exact number of cars currently plying in Delhi – their engine quality, fuel grade, degree of usage – is a massive logistical exercise with a number of variables, automobiles do cause the maximum amount of pollution in the air. Delhi does not have the scale of industry that could compete with vehicular pollution to deflect blame.
Meanwhile, Anand Vihar, with the dubious honour of one of the most polluted places in the country registered a Pm2.5 reading of 313.92, exceeding the prescribed standard by 213.92, and RK Puram saw PM2.5 concentration of 296.51 and a PM10 concentration of 422.62.
PM2.5 and PM10, two measure of particulate matter, have been Delhi's most prominent pollutants, and accurate readings for these are important to measure how Delhi's air quality has worsened over the years and take concrete action, according to Jakhwal. The CPCB would soon move to measuring PM1, he added.
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