The air quality in Delhi-NCR was back in ‘severe’ category on Monday — for the second time in past six days — even as the Delhi government urged the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to allow exemptions for women drivers and two-wheelers for “this year” in implementation of the odd-even traffic restriction scheme.
The toxicity in the air rose to ‘severe’ category on a day schools in the national capital reopened after remaining closed since Thursday due to ‘severe’ air pollution levels.
With light rain or drizzle expected on Wednesday, air quality may improve in the coming days.
Here are the live updates:
12.50pm: Delhi govt withdraws its petition for modifications. NGT suggested Delhi govt take care of the logical explanations for odd-even exemptions when they approach NGT again
12.40pm: NGT to Delhi government: When reports have stated that two-wheelers are more polluting than four-wheelers, why do you intend to give arbitrary exemptions? Is this a joke? What does one stand to gain from this?
12.30pm: Why don’t you take positive steps? Why should we exempt anybody? If they (two-wheelers) are not polluting, we will allow them: NGT tells Delhi government .
12.20pm: NGT asks Delhi Govt as to why it can’t run ladies only buses to solve the problem of transport during odd-even scheme.
12.10pm: If you show us you sprinkled water in a proper way and pollution doesn’t come down, we will withdraw that order (of sprinkling): NGT tells Delhi government
12pm: Kejriwal asks Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to join the meeting with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday.
11.40am: Terming the air quality in the national capital as poor and unsafe, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) urged the Delhi High Court on Tuesday to pass directions to postpone the Delhi Half Marathon.
11.20am: HC issues notice to Delhi govt, DPCC, police and organiser of Delhi Half Marathon on IMA plea to postpone event in view of poor air quality.
11am: “The minimum temperature was recorded at 14.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal,” a MeT department official said.
9.55am: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he would be meeting the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday.
9.45am: Train operations were still affected. Around 10 inbound trains were cancelled, 34 rescheduled, and 73 trains were delayed.
8.30am: Areas close to the Delhi Technical University were the most polluted with a severe AQI of 492. The primary pollutant here was PM2.5.
8.20am: Dilshad Garden had the cleanest air, with an AQI of 312.
8am: The EPCA, a Supreme Court-appointed panel to monitor pollution in Delhi-NCR, has suggested banning plying of diesel vehicles and shutting down thermal power plants when pollution breaches ‘emergency’ levels as a part of its new recommendations to strengthen the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).