UP CM Adityanath orders officials to take measures to curb pollution in NCR

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting with local officials to discuss air pollution, an issue prevailing in the National Capital Region. In the meeting, the chief minister instructed officials on the need to have planned efforts to curb pollution. He also asked the officials to encourage locals to use public transport as much as possible, instead of private vehicles, according to the statement by the chief minister's office.

The meeting comes as Delhi NCR is seeing a major dip in the air quality, prompting government to take emergency measures such as the closure of schools, construction sites. The Delhi government is also considering a lockdown of one week in order to reduce the pollutants in the air.

The pollution level in the National Capital Region (NCR), especially Noida and Gurugram, recorded a slight dip on Tuesday. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), Noida reported the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the upper end of the 'Very Poor' category at 362, while the air quality in Gurugram deteriorated to the 'Very Poor' category at 322,

As per SAFAR's bulletin, the AQI in Delhi which was recorded at 331 is "unlikely to improve" today as winds at the transport level are increasing, resulting in more intrusion of farm fire-related pollutants into Delhi.

Yesterday, the national capital recorded an AQI at 318 (overall).

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central government to call an "emergency meeting" on November 16 with Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh and sought an action plan to curb air pollution in the city.

(With agency inputs)