Pollution in Delhi: Pollution continues to blanket the capital, air quality remains “very poor” at 336.

Delhi residents were greeted by a persistent layer of smog that shrouded the national capital as the region grappled with alarming air quality levels. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 7am, stood at a worrying 336, showing a slight improvement from the previous day’s peak of over 350.

However, this still places air quality firmly in the ‘very poor’ category, indicating ongoing health risks for residents.

Despite the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)-II by the Delhi government on Tuesday, the situation remains dire. As of 8 am on Wednesday, air quality in Delhi had deteriorated further, with AQI falling to 354, categorized as ‘very poor’.

Alarmingly, some monitoring stations reported AQI levels over 400, classified as ‘severe’. The air quality is divided into classifications: ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300), ‘Very poor’ (AQI 301-400) and ‘Serious’ (AQI 401-450), with the critical category ‘Severe Plus’. for levels above 450.

Areas that have been severely affected include Anand Vihar, Dwarka, RK Puram and Bawana, with the 24-hour averages remaining in the 350+ category.

Here are the top 5 developments of the past 24 hours:

category ‘serious’. As a result, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded the Center for making the Environmental Protection Act ‘toothless’ through amendments.

Delhi Pollution Updates: Top 10 Developments So Far

1. “We will hold the Union of India accountable… it has not created any machine. The Environmental Protection Act has become toothless. You have abolished the penalty and replaced it with a penalty by amending Section 15 and the procedure to be followed. for imposing penalty cannot be followed,” the top court said.
2. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, assured the court that the rules would be finalized within 10 days and the law would be made “fully operational”.
3. During the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had reprimanded Punjab and Haryana for not taking action against those violating the ban on stubble burning.
4. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai gave a clean chit to Punjab while speaking on the stubble burning issue and blamed Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
5. “The parking rates (off-road/indoor) have been increased to twice the existing rates for parking managed by NDMC till the withdrawal of phase II of the GRAP,” the NDMC said.