'We were exporting copper at that time. Now India is importing copper to the tune of around $1.2 billion. Moreover, there was a larger impact on the dependent MSMEs.'
The air quality had turned 'severe' on Saturday evening with stubble burning accounting for 32 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution, but firecracker emissions and calm winds made the situation even worse.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
Experts said unfavourable meteorological conditions -- calm winds and low temperatures -- and smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states led to a dense layer of haze as the air quality index entered the "severe" zone.
He alleged that the BJP made people burst firecrackers on Diwali.
Uttar Pradesh director general of police HC Awasthy, Sashastra Seema Bal DG Kumar Rajesh Chandra and Special Secretary Home Ministry VSK Kaumudi were short-listed for the post of Central Bureau of Investigation director.
The dip in the air quality can be attributed to low wind speed and temperatures which allowed accumulation of pollutants.
The Chinese capital Beijing was shrouded in thick brown dust on Monday morning as a result of heavy winds blowing in from Inner Mongolia and other parts of northwestern China.
A day before the U-17 FIFA world cup kicks off in Delhi, environment NGO Greenpeace said today the level of coarse air pollutants PM10 "far exceeded" the safe levels in the host cities of the tournament last October.
Delhi recorded an air quality index of 315 at 11:10 am. The last time the air quality hit such a poor level was in February.
Jaiswal is a 1985-batch Indian Police Service officer of Maharashtra cadre. He has also served as Maharashtra's director general of police in the past.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the 'country's first smog tower' at Connaught Place in New Delhi on Monday and said it will prove to be a milestone and many such structures can be installed in the city if the pilot project yields results.
Stating that 'we cannot...infuse creativity in your bureaucracy', the apex court warned it will have to do something extraordinary if the authorities failed to control pollution.
The nationwide 'Janta Curfew' followed by the 21-day lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak have led to a significant reduction in pollution in the country, with 91 cities recording air quality in the 'good' and 'satisfactory' category on March 29, a Central Pollution Control Board report has stated. Travel restrictions and the closure of industries have helped reduce the pollution level, it said.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a Common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.
A CPCB official said a number of factors were responsible for the deteriorating air quality, including vehicular pollution, construction activities and meteorological factors.
It also asked the governments of Punjab and Haryana to take immediate stringent actions to curb stubble burning and authorities in Delhi-NCR to strictly check biomass burning.
According to senior IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava, clear sky or absence of clouds allows sun rays to reach the ground, warming up the air close to the ground which lifts up and clears the pollutants.
According to SAFAR, both stubble burning in surrounding states of Delhi and firecrackers are causing deterioration of air quality in the national capital.
The spurt in pollutants was caused by a combination of meteorological factors including a drop in temperature, wind speed and mixing height, a layer where air and particulates float, the Central Pollution Control Board said.
The United States embassy's pollution monitor recorded 'hazardous' air quality with the index scoring an alarming 878, which the mission considers 'beyond its air quality index' (AQI), which ends at 500.
Measures under the GRAP's 'very poor' and 'severe' categories came into effect on Tuesday.
As many as 753 violators of the odd-even scheme were challaned on Monday, the 11th day of the car-rationing measure's implementation in New Delhi.
In 2012, with one million deaths, China reported the highest toll from PM2.5 and PM10 pollution. At the time, India followed, reporting 621,138 deaths, nearly 10 per cent of the global toll associated with outdoor and indoor air pollution
The overall air quality index was recorded at 426 which falls in the 'severe' category, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Air quality in the national capital deteriorated alarmingly a day after Diwali as pollution levels spiked more than five times higher than normal leaving many at the risk of respiratory problems.
Pollution levels in Delhi during the Diwali period are likely to remain in the higher end of the 'very poor' category in the absence of emissions due to fireworks, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR said.
The Delhi government said that it is not ready "to compromise with the safety of women".
The news may come as a relief to the Delhi government, whose odd-even traffic rule is set to be rolled out from January 1.
With CPCB saying that the air quality is not severe now, the SC partially lifted its ban.
The eight areas that recorded 'severe' air quality Saturday are Anand Vihar, Dwarka Sector 8, Narela, Punjabi Bagh, Bawana, Mundaka, Vivek Vihar and Rohini.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Long-term exposure to chronically high PM2.5 levels weakens the ability of the lungs to fend off infections, therefore making people more susceptible to COVID-19, the scientists said.
22 of the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded the air quality in the severe category on Thursday morning.
The dramatic reversal in the situation caught people and weather scientists unaware.
ASG said it would be impossible to accommodate people in public transport if odd-even scheme is made applicable for two-wheelers also.
A thin layer of toxic haze hung over Delhi in the morning and the overall air quality index stood at 313 at 9 am. It continued its upward trend and was recorded at 337 at 1 pm.
Hazardous pollution has made anti-pollution gear and gadgets a near-necessity, says Khalid Anzar.
An annual survey by Gallup International rated PM Modi behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by French president Emmanuel Macron.
The dense cover of grey haze shrouding Delhi for almost a week, reminiscent of the 1952 Great Smog in London, plunged the city's air quality to the season's worst.
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