NCR air ‘severe’, Haryana to take call on school closure today

Gurugram’s air quality deteriorated to “severe” on Thursday, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) reading recorded at 430, the worst so far this season. Most of Delhi-NCR recorded a “severe” AQI as well, with Delhi topping the list at 450, leading to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas directing state governments to enforce stricter guidelines under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap).

“As per the forecast, the AQI in Delhi is likely to be in the ‘severe+/severe’ category in the next couple of days owing to calm winds and stable atmospheric conditions. Therefore, in an effort to prevent further deterioration of air quality, the Grap sub-committee decided that all actions as envisaged under Stage 4 of Grap be implemented in right earnest by all agencies concerned,” CAQM said in its order.

An AQI reading between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, said that the administration will decide on the enforcement of Grap Stage 4 actions after a meeting with the pollution board and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Faridabad on Friday.“We are aware of the rising pollution level and we will enforce guidelines under Stage 4 of Grap after a meeting with the pollution board and the Haryana chief minister on Friday,” he said.

Haryana now has to decide on the closure of schools/ colleges/ educational institutions, ban on plying of four-wheeler diesel vehicles, allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home, and the closure of all industries in the district under the Stage 4 guidelines of Grap.

Yadav said that the Haryana pollution board forwarded the CAQM directions issued on Thursday to all deputy commissioners of NCR districts. “We will release a detailed press note on Friday with clarity on schools, industries and work from home if required,” he said.

CM Khattar affirmed that the state government will announce their decision on Friday. “We will implement the guidelines required in Gurugram and Faridabad districts,” he said.

Meanwhile, authorities appealed to the public to not venture out.

Sandeep Singh, Gurugram (south) regional officer for Haryana State Pollution Control Board said, “We appeal to the common masses not to venture out without any strong reason or just for pleasure. They should use public transport or car-pool. It is for their own safety.”

On Thursday, three functional AQI monitors of four in Gurugram all recorded severe AQI levels at 407 (Gwal Pahari), 420 (Sector 51) and 402 (Teri Gram) at 12pm. The AQI kept deteriorating as the day progressed.

Experts attributed the deterioration in air quality to increased stubble burning activities in Punjab and other parts of Haryana and meteorological conditions unfavourable to the dispersion of pollutants. The AQI in most parts of Delhi-NCR had already hit the “severe” category on Tuesday but was recorded in the upper end of the “very poor” category in Gurugram.

Sachin Panwar, a city-based environmentalist, said, “Gurugram is affected by smoke from fires from Punjab and Haryana as north and north-westerly winds are bringing pollutants towards Gurugram and other parts of Delhi-NCR,” he said.

“Thursday’s AQI is the season’s worst till now. It is an air emergency--civic bodies need to step in immediately to ensure safety of the residents,” he said.

Panwar said that schools and colleges should be shut as a precautionary measure until the situation improves.

“Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population and they will be affected the most,” he said. He added that local activities which pollute the air must be handled strictly.

Experts also said that low wind speed (hardly upto 5kmph), a drop in temperature, lower mixing height (height of vertical mixing of air and suspended particles above the ground) along with the northerly wind direction and thermal inversion are the reasons for the bad air. They added that a short spell of rain is expected next week and the wind direction is expected to change to easterly from the night of November 4, which would marginally improve the situation for two to four days by settling as well as blowing away pollutants suspended in the air--however, the AQI level would still remain in the “poor” or “very poor” categories in the days to come.

According to Panwar, the present mixing height is hardly 90 metres above ground, while this height should ideally be 1,000 metres or more above ground.

“Governments or administrations’ steps to curb stubble burning are either inadequate or absent on ground. The steps taken by civic bodies to bring down this pollution by sprinkling water or by taking penal action against violators are not enough in the present scenario,” he said.

According to the CAQM statement, there is a likelihood of improvement in air quality from November 6 onwards, owing to favourable wind speed and direction, which at present is dominantly north-western. The CAQM sub-committee will again review the air quality scenario on November 6 and take appropriate decision on Grap measures to be taken thereafter.