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Jasjeev Gandhiok

Articles by Jasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi govt to plant 14 varieties of grass at Asola Bhatti wildlife sanctuary

Although there are no immediate plans for a policy change that incorporates grasses in the greening target, a forest official said it will be looked at following this pilot project.

Grasses are already returning in parts of the sanctuary where human footprint has reduced, according to a senior forest official in the south division. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Archive)

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Updated on Jan 31, 2022 12:22 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Warmer day, colder night for Capital; Met predicts some respite by Jan-end

Delhi saw its 3rd straight cold day on Wednesday, and the IMD has predicted similar conditions for today as well.

A man lights a fire to stay warm on a cold winter evening at south Delhi's Nizamuddin on Wednesday (Amal KS/HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 27, 2022 06:54 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

Biting chill but familiar winter fog eludes Delhi, least since 2008

According to IMD data, Delhi has seen only 175 hours of fog so far this month. This number is the lowest since 2008, when the Capital got 166 fog hours, and well below the January average of 290 fog hours.

Fog on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway near IFFCO Chowk, on January 14. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

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Published on Jan 27, 2022 12:15 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

Streak continues in Delhi as Tuesday’s max temperature reaches 12.1°C

The last time Delhi had recorded a lower maximum temperature in January was on January 3, 2013, when the day temperature failed to cross the 10-degree mark (9.8 degrees Celsius).

The IMD classifies a ‘cold day’ when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees Celisus or more below normal, with the minimum settling below the 10-degree mark.(AP | Representational image)

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Published on Jan 26, 2022 02:29 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Chill is on for Delhi: Jan days coldest in 19 years

The average maximum temperature in Delhi from the start of the year up to January 24 is 16.9 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD data.

Delhi has already recorded 12 days this month where the maximum temperature was below the 17-degree mark.(ANI Photo)

india news

Updated on Jan 26, 2022 02:00 AM IST

ByAbhishek Jha, Jasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Rain leaves its mark: Delhi gets first ‘severe cold day’ of season

IMD said it expects cold day conditions to remain in Delhi for the next two days, with a yellow alert in place for Tuesday and Wednesday

Thick fog engulfs Noida on Monday morning. (Sourced: Mohd Kashif and Arun Chauhan)

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Updated on Jan 25, 2022 02:06 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Another extreme weather event as Delhi eclipses January rain record

With this latest spell, Delhi has got 88.2mm of rainfall so far in January, beating the previous record for the month (79.7mm) set in 1989

IMD has forecast no rain for the city till January 29, and said the impact of colder winds from snow-clad hills will lead to a drop in the minimum temperature. (HT)

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Updated on Jan 24, 2022 07:12 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Rail body booked for felling 18 trees near Delhi’s Dwarka Sector 21

An RLDA official said that they did not seek any permission as the land was barren when the project was awarded eight years ago

A Railway official said they only cut saplings to make way for trucks. (Sourced)

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Updated on Jan 24, 2022 03:08 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Residents claim trees felled for railway stn

Residents said that while work on the project has been ongoing for the past eight years, tree felling started only 10 days ago, with over 200 trees being axed since then.

A senior forest and wildlife department, when contacted, said an inspection was carried out at the site on Wednesday and all necessary documents and permissions for the tree felling are being checked.

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Published on Jan 21, 2022 04:17 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

Delhi among 3 global cities part of Nasa's air pollution challenge

Nasa has invited individuals and teams to analyse a 5x5 km grid in the three cities, and the data gathered in this manner will be shared with the US embassy in Delhi and the Delhi government. The winning team will be receiving a prize of $50,000.

A field in Mayur Vihar shrouded in a layer of fog on Wednesday. Experts said models that make use of widely available, low-cost sensor data and satellite imagery have the potential to provide daily local air quality information to thousands of people. (Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)

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Updated on Jan 20, 2022 04:22 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

Weather forecasts in Delhi to get sharper with third doppler radar

Though the upcoming doppler radar at Ayanagar has the smallest area of influence among the three, covering a radius of around 100 kilometres, it is also the most precise.

The Ayanagar doppler radar will be used in combination with the DWR at Lodhi Road, which was being utilised to predict rain and thunderstorms in Delhi. (Sourced)

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Updated on Jan 19, 2022 03:36 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

Most of Capital’s forest cover loss was in N-W, S-W Delhi: ISFR 2021

While “necessary” construction projects led to a slight decline in the two districts, saplings planted in the past are likely to have matured in both east and northeast Delhi, adding to overall forest cover, a Delhi forest department official said.

While Delhi lost 0.44 sq km of forest cover, it gained 18 sq km of tree cover in the last two years, according to the report. (HT Archive)

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Updated on Jan 18, 2022 03:44 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

‘Fog hole’ brings sun out but cold persists

While Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 17.2 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday, three notches below normal, some parts of the city still recorded ‘cold day’ conditions, with the mercury increasing only marginally, to 12.8°C, at outer Delhi’s Narela.

The Capital recorded its lowest maximum temperature for two years on Saturday, when the daytime mercury dipped to 14.8°C at Safdarjung and 10.7°C at Narela.(PTI)

india news

Updated on Jan 17, 2022 04:11 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

10 water bodies may be labelled Delhi’s first wetlands this March

The Delhi State Wetland Authority (DSWA) is expected to release a draft notification for each water body under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules of 2017. This will ensure legal protection to the water bodies

Hauz Khas is among the 10 water bodies identified in the first phase. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

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Updated on Jan 17, 2022 02:00 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Sarvodaya Enclave lost 143 trees in 7 years, Delhi forest dept finds

The inspection was carried out using a combination of satellite imagery and a physical re-census, following orders issued by the Delhi high court on October 11 last year, asking the forest and wildlife department to take action within six weeks’ time

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Updated on Jan 15, 2022 07:04 PM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi’s green cover up over 5%, but forest area dips marginally

The report showed while Delhi recorded a slight decrease of 0.44sqkm in its forest cover, it recorded an increase of 18sqkm in total tree cover – a result the forest department said is due to large-scale plantation drives

Delhi now has 147sqkm of its total area under tree cover, an increase of 13.9% from 129sqkm in 2019. (Picture for representation only/HT)

cities

Updated on Jan 14, 2022 06:52 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Govt forms 11-member council to protect city’s biodiversity, plan for its future

The council will function as an autonomous unit under the forest and wildlife department of Delhi and receive separate funds. It will hold its first meeting on Friday

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has issued directions to have biodiversity councils in each state and Union Territory across the country. (Picture for representation only/HT)

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Updated on Jan 13, 2022 01:21 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Despite rule, no pet shop in Delhi registered with state animal welfare board

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018, makes it mandatory for pet shops in Delhi and other states to be registered with the State Animal Welfare Board. An official from the department told HT that they have begun work on registering pet shops

The Indian star tortoise, the sale of which is banned under the Wildlife Protection Act, at a pet shop in the Capital. (Sourced)

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Updated on Jan 13, 2022 01:15 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Dense fog spell delays early flights

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said rain over the weekend brought sufficient moisture to Delhi, which may lead to spells of moderate to dense fog in the coming days as well.

Delhi last reported about one hour of dense fog on December 29.

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Published on Jan 12, 2022 01:22 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Why is Delhi not recording much fog this winter season?

Not only is the lack of “dense fog” hours strange, but Delhi has also not recorded enough shallow to moderate fog hours

CAT-I procedures are initiated at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport in “shallow” fog, while CAT-II procedures are initiated in “moderate” fog(PTI)

analysis

Published on Jan 11, 2022 08:42 PM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Clean air targets not met in Delhi NCR

The annual level of PM 2.5, minute dust that enters deep into the lungs and bloodstream, was two and a half times the national annual benchmark of 40 mcm, and as much as 20 times the safe limit prescribed by the World Health Organization.

A view of skyscrapers blanketed in smog amid rising air pollution, in Greater Noida. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

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Published on Jan 11, 2022 04:38 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Weekend rain gives city wettest Jan in 27 yrs, season’s lowest max temperature

The day saw the city receive 5.4mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm, after 41mm rain the previous day, taking the total precipitation in Delhi for the month to 63.6mm -- the most in January since 1995.

At the Delhi-Gurugram expressway on Sunday.(PArveen Kumar/HT Photo)

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Published on Jan 10, 2022 04:27 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Delhi plans mesh of sensors to monitor pollution air hot spots

Pollution is one of the biggest problems dogging Delhi, and the city experiences a public health emergency every winter with the air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels

Vehicles drive through smog on Thursday morning on NH-24 near Akshardham temple in Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 07, 2022 06:24 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi shivers at season’s lowest max temperature

The rain, coupled with low clouds also created a haze that prevailed during the day, keeping visibility between 400 and 1,200 metres, which led to a slight deterioration in air quality, despite the rain, IMD scientists said.

Light rain persisted throughout the day, and maximum temperature fell to 15.7 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal.(Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 06, 2022 05:14 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Fourth runway, T1 upgrades: 2022 a crucial year for Delhi airport

The revamped T1, which is currently undergoing work to double its capacity from 20 million passengers per annum to 40 million passengers, will integrate the departure and arrival terminals under one roof.

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Updated on Jan 03, 2022 04:38 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Post-stubble burning, why Delhi sees a second spike in pollution in December

It is the second spell that is more worrying in the pollution fight as it occurs due to high background emissions in the region

Delhi is not the only contributor to this second spell, with pollution from NCR floating towards Delhi just as much(Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

india news

Published on Jan 01, 2022 05:38 PM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Chain-link fencing replaces barbed wires in Delhi’s Sanjay Van

In 2019, activists had filed a complaint with the forest department about animals, such as nilgai, getting stuck in the barbed wires, causing them to get grievously injured or die in the process.

The chain-link fencing has been used in the plantation areas of Sanjay Van to protect them from being trampled over. (Sourced)

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Published on Dec 31, 2021 10:12 PM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Cold wave returns: Temp falls to 3.4°C, Delhi may be cooler today

Met officials it was the sharpest drop in the minimum temperature this season so far since the mercury dropped to 3.4°C from 8.4°C recorded on Wednesday.

IMD also issued a yellow alert for December 31 and January 1, asking the city residents to beware of a weather situation, referring to the dropping temperatures. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

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Published on Dec 31, 2021 01:21 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

Delhi met national PM2.5 standards for only half of 2021

In an analysis released by the System of Air Quality of Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar) on Thursday, Delhi recorded a total of 49 ‘good’ air days – when the 24-hour average PM 2.5 concentration was below 30 micrograms per cubic metre

According to Safar’s analysis, Delhi met the ambient air standards for 193 days (51 good and 142 satisfactory days) last year. Delhi saw its cleanest year last year due to Covid-19 induced lockdowns bringing activities to a halt in 2020, the agency said. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

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Published on Dec 31, 2021 01:14 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok

2021: The year when Delhi broke a weather record every month

Not only did Delhi see extreme cold waves at the start and end of the year, it witnessed an intense monsoon that continued well into late October as the city recorded 1,512.4mm of rainfall till December 29, the second highest ever

Delhi recorded extreme weather during 2021, when each month a new weather record was set with city witnessing sizzling heat as well as a bumper monsoon. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

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Published on Dec 30, 2021 12:14 AM IST

ByJasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

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Jasjeev Gandhiok

Although there are no immediate plans for a policy change that incorporates grasses in the greening target, a forest official said it will be looked at following this pilot project.

Delhi saw its 3rd straight cold day on Wednesday, and the IMD has predicted similar conditions for today as well.

According to IMD data, Delhi has seen only 175 hours of fog so far this month. This number is the lowest since 2008, when the Capital got 166 fog hours, and well below the January average of 290 fog hours.

The last time Delhi had recorded a lower maximum temperature in January was on January 3, 2013, when the day temperature failed to cross the 10-degree mark (9.8 degrees Celsius).

The average maximum temperature in Delhi from the start of the year up to January 24 is 16.9 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD data.

IMD said it expects cold day conditions to remain in Delhi for the next two days, with a yellow alert in place for Tuesday and Wednesday

With this latest spell, Delhi has got 88.2mm of rainfall so far in January, beating the previous record for the month (79.7mm) set in 1989

An RLDA official said that they did not seek any permission as the land was barren when the project was awarded eight years ago

Residents said that while work on the project has been ongoing for the past eight years, tree felling started only 10 days ago, with over 200 trees being axed since then.

Nasa has invited individuals and teams to analyse a 5x5 km grid in the three cities, and the data gathered in this manner will be shared with the US embassy in Delhi and the Delhi government. The winning team will be receiving a prize of $50,000.

Though the upcoming doppler radar at Ayanagar has the smallest area of influence among the three, covering a radius of around 100 kilometres, it is also the most precise.

While “necessary” construction projects led to a slight decline in the two districts, saplings planted in the past are likely to have matured in both east and northeast Delhi, adding to overall forest cover, a Delhi forest department official said.

While Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 17.2 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday, three notches below normal, some parts of the city still recorded ‘cold day’ conditions, with the mercury increasing only marginally, to 12.8°C, at outer Delhi’s Narela.

The Delhi State Wetland Authority (DSWA) is expected to release a draft notification for each water body under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules of 2017. This will ensure legal protection to the water bodies

The inspection was carried out using a combination of satellite imagery and a physical re-census, following orders issued by the Delhi high court on October 11 last year, asking the forest and wildlife department to take action within six weeks’ time

The report showed while Delhi recorded a slight decrease of 0.44sqkm in its forest cover, it recorded an increase of 18sqkm in total tree cover – a result the forest department said is due to large-scale plantation drives

The council will function as an autonomous unit under the forest and wildlife department of Delhi and receive separate funds. It will hold its first meeting on Friday

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018, makes it mandatory for pet shops in Delhi and other states to be registered with the State Animal Welfare Board. An official from the department told HT that they have begun work on registering pet shops

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said rain over the weekend brought sufficient moisture to Delhi, which may lead to spells of moderate to dense fog in the coming days as well.

Not only is the lack of “dense fog” hours strange, but Delhi has also not recorded enough shallow to moderate fog hours

The annual level of PM 2.5, minute dust that enters deep into the lungs and bloodstream, was two and a half times the national annual benchmark of 40 mcm, and as much as 20 times the safe limit prescribed by the World Health Organization.

The day saw the city receive 5.4mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm, after 41mm rain the previous day, taking the total precipitation in Delhi for the month to 63.6mm -- the most in January since 1995.

Pollution is one of the biggest problems dogging Delhi, and the city experiences a public health emergency every winter with the air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels

The rain, coupled with low clouds also created a haze that prevailed during the day, keeping visibility between 400 and 1,200 metres, which led to a slight deterioration in air quality, despite the rain, IMD scientists said.

The revamped T1, which is currently undergoing work to double its capacity from 20 million passengers per annum to 40 million passengers, will integrate the departure and arrival terminals under one roof.

It is the second spell that is more worrying in the pollution fight as it occurs due to high background emissions in the region

In 2019, activists had filed a complaint with the forest department about animals, such as nilgai, getting stuck in the barbed wires, causing them to get grievously injured or die in the process.

Met officials it was the sharpest drop in the minimum temperature this season so far since the mercury dropped to 3.4°C from 8.4°C recorded on Wednesday.

In an analysis released by the System of Air Quality of Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar) on Thursday, Delhi recorded a total of 49 ‘good’ air days – when the 24-hour average PM 2.5 concentration was below 30 micrograms per cubic metre

Not only did Delhi see extreme cold waves at the start and end of the year, it witnessed an intense monsoon that continued well into late October as the city recorded 1,512.4mm of rainfall till December 29, the second highest ever

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