Air quality index (AQI) soared past 350 level in parts of Delhi on Thursday and experts cautioned that as weather turns colder it may breach the 400-mark ceiling and enter the 'severe' zone soon, notwithstanding the incidents of stubble burnings which have nosedived from 17,529 in 2020 to 4,262 this year.
Sunil Bharala, the chairman of the state Labour Welfare Council, said stubble burning is an 'age-old practice'.
Air pollution may lead to a faster spread of Covid-19 infection as it causes coughing and sneezing, government officials told a parliamentary panel on Friday, according to sources.
Delhi's air quality plummeted to alarming levels on Tuesday after 24 days, with many areas witnessing a significant spike in pollution despite the strictest measures, including a ban on construction activities and the entry of trucks into the city, coming into force.
Dense fog enveloped Delhi for a second consecutive morning, leading to disruptions in air and rail traffic. Visibility dropped to zero in several areas, causing delays for 81 trains and diversions for 15 flights. The Met office attributed the fog to calm surface winds, and predicted continued dense to very dense fog throughout the day. Meanwhile, the national capital's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category, with an AQI reading of 380 at 9 am.
The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 417, making it the worst in the country. On Friday, the AQI level was 396.
The green panel said that innocent people drank and bathed in the river with reverence, without knowing that it may adversely affect their health.
After a long and harsh spell of heatwave, Delhi witnessed a pleasant morning on Thursday, with the weather department saying parts of the national capital received light rains.
In the wake of the Aazan versus Hanuman Chalisa row in Karnataka, the state government has issued a set of directions on the use of loudspeakers and to remove them if they were not authorised by the 'designated authority.'
Violation of the provisions entails a punishment of a jail term up to five years or with fine up to Rs 1 crore or with both, the ordinance released by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday said.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests is setting up a network for national-level monitoring and reporting of noise pollution. Based on the pattern of existing air and water networks, the setting up of the National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network and development of infrastructure for noise mapping in the country are expected to be in place within five years.
In fresh trouble for Ramdev, the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board has issued a show cause notice to the herbal food park run by the yoga guru at Padartha in Haridwar district for allegedly releasing untreated waste into the water bodies of the area.
Directions have been issued to about 48 industrial units polluting River Ganga to close down, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has ordered closure of soft drinks major Coca Cola's plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district.
The Uttar Pradesh government, citing a scientist, has asserted that Ganga water at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj is as pure as "alkaline water", debunking concerns raised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about water quality. The government claims that a scientist found no bacterial growth or decline in the water's pH level, despite millions of devotees bathing in the river. However, experts caution that the quality of the Ganga water is not static and can vary greatly depending on various factors.
The companies will have to secure a minimum of 400 points out of 1,000 to be able to participate in the rating system.
Ramesh asked the PM why river Ganga is "dirtier than before" even after spending Rs 20,000 crore on the Namami Gange project.
With such announcements grabbing the voters' attention, critical issues like pollution, especially the smog that chokes Delhi every winter, remain largely unaddressed. Many residents have raised concerns over the lack of concrete action plans to combat air pollution, which continues to pose a severe health risk to Delhiites.
The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 420 at 8 am on Thursday, compared to 426 at 4 pm on Wednesday. The AQI map prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board showed clusters of red dots (indicating hazardous air quality) spread across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
The Indian government has stated that the water in the Ganga river at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj was fit for bathing during the recently concluded Maha Kumbh, citing a new report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The report, however, contradicts an earlier CPCB report that found high faecal coliform levels at several locations in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh. The government also highlighted measures taken to ensure water quality during the event, including the installation of sewage treatment plants and the use of advanced oxidation techniques to treat wastewater.
The Central Pollution Control Board has asked Tata Steel to submit the closure schedule of the battery at the earliest, minister of state for Steel A Sai Prathap said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. Coke oven battery is a plant where coking coal is converted into coke.
IPL matches in Bengaluru under NGT scanner
Amid rising air pollution caused by the burning of crop residue, the Bihar government has decided to identify farmers who are indulging in this practice and put up their names at the block offices, officials said on Saturday.
The government asserted that the Central Pollution Control Board will inspect the ship
The petition alleged that "illegal mining" was being carried out by Singh, the MP from Kaiserganj, in Majharath, Jaitpur and Nawabganj villages of Tarbganj tehsil in the district.
The Centre directed Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Sunday to prevent dumping of dead bodies in the Ganga and its tributaries, and focus on their safe disposal and a dignified cremation after corpses were seen floating in these rivers following a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases.
According to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the air quality is considered to be in the emergency category if the PM2.5 and PM10 levels continue to be above 300 micrograms per cubic metre and 500 micrograms per cubic metre respectively for 48 hours or more.
Containers from a Liberian cargo ship that sank off the Kerala coast have started washing ashore, prompting authorities to urge the public to stay away from them. The ship carried 13 hazardous cargos, including calcium carbide, which reacts with seawater to release highly flammable acetylene gas. The Indian Coast Guard is leading pollution response efforts and monitoring the spread of the oil slick.
The poisonous haze has been causing significant problems for people with existing respiratory issues, according to doctors.
The Ganga water at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, where lakhs of people are taking a holy dip every day during the ongoing Maha Kumbh, is currently unsafe for bathing as it exceeds the prescribed limit for biological oxygen demand (BOD), a key parameter to determine water quality, according to government data.
The maximum temperature on Saturday settled at 18.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, and the minimum was recorded at 3.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, the IMD said.
A strong dust storm and gusty winds followed by rain hit Delhi-NCR on Friday evening, causing trees to be uprooted in several parts and leading to traffic congestion. Thunderstorms caused power disruptions in several parts of the city, primarily due to trees and branches falling on electricity cables. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert, recommending people stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
If industrial units do not have functional PETPs, then they will not be allowed to function any more, the court said.
This time, Delhi saw a sharp improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali which can be attributed to intermittent rainfall on Friday and wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
Vedanta had sought handing over of the plant for three months saying it requires two months to start the unit and the company should be allowed to run it for four weeks to ascertain whether its polluting or not. The interim plea by Vedanta was opposed by Tamil Nadu government which claimed before a bench headed by Justice R F Nariman that the plant had been 'polluting consistently'.
The issue of pollution caused due to the non-degradable material is keeping consumer goods majors - from ITC and Dabur to Nestl and PepsiCo - on their toes.
The big question is whether the regulators will have the courage to prosecute the bigwigs in the cities.
Violation of the provisions entails a punishment of a jail term of up to five years or with fine up to Rs one crore or with both.
