The fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was called off without a ball being bowled on Wednesday, as dense fog and worsening air quality rendered playing conditions unsafe at the Ekana stadium.
Acentral panel directed authorities to ban the plying of 4-wheeled diesel LMVs in Delhi and adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the capital.
Interest in green living is rising, with clean air and open spaces becoming key selling points for residential projects, particularly as Indian cities struggle with deteriorating air quality.
A thick layer of toxic smog enveloped the national capital on Saturday as air quality deteriorated sharply, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke the strictest curbs under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR.
The Delhi High Court has directed the GST Council to consider lowering or abolishing the goods and services tax on air purifiers, citing worsening air quality in the national capital. The court has asked the council to meet at the earliest, even via video conference if necessary, to address the issue.
The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said a "significant improvement in air quality is not likely" owing to slow wind speed, particularly during night time, and contribution from farm fires.
'If a common man wants to buy an air purifier for Rs 10,000, then he will have to shell out Rs 11,800 with 18 percent GST.' 'If he is charged GST at 5 percent the same air purifier will cost Rs 10,500.' 'This saves a one time amount of Rs 1,300 -- and that too just to breathe clean air.'
Delhiites woke up on Thursday to a thick envelope of smog as air quality in the national capital and in adjoining regions, dipped into severe category again.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 248 on Saturday.
The overall Air Quality Index was recorded at 231 on Sunday which falls in 'poor' category.
According to SAFAR, both stubble burning in surrounding states of Delhi and firecrackers are causing deterioration of air quality in the national capital.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider directing schools in Delhi-NCR to postpone open air sports competitions planned in November and December to 'safer months' keeping in mind air pollution levels.
The air quality in Delhi remained poor Sunday with drop in wind speed even as authorities predicted further fall in air quality index of the national capital in the coming days.
General insurance companies are likely to see a surge in demand for health insurance in the coming months due to falling air quality in the country. The health insurance segment has registered a strong growth after the pandemic due to higher awareness. In the first half of financial year 2023-24, the segment grew by 24.4 per cent to Rs 54,713.52 crore from Rs 43,981.54 crore in H1FY23, driving growth of the non-life insurance industry.
Lahore, Pakistan, has once again been ranked as the world's most polluted city, with hazardous smog levels far exceeding WHO guidelines. The city is battling a toxic mix of vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, and crop residue burning.
Fuel pumps are not dispensing fuel to vehicles without valid PUC certificates, and this is being enforced with the help of automatic number plate reader cameras, voice alerts at pumps, and police support.
The pollution board said that the situation will improve further by Sunday if favourable conditions prevail.
An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down.
The air quality in the national capital remained poor for the sixth consecutive day on Monday with stubble burning accounting for seven per cent of the capital's PM2.5 pollution.
The Bombay High Court criticized the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its lack of action in addressing air pollution in Mumbai, questioning the approval of numerous large construction projects and urging preventive measures.
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.
The capital witnessed a clear morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling a notch below normal at 14.6 degrees Celsius.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has ordered the shutdown of 19 ready mix concrete plants in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for violating environmental guidelines and contributing to deteriorating air quality levels.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports that ash clouds from volcanic activity in Ethiopia, which impacted flight operations in India, are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7.30 pm on Tuesday.
Green think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency.
On Thursday, the overall AQI in Delhi was 312 around 8:30 in the morning.
The Delhi High Court has asked the central government why it cannot reduce the GST on air purifiers, considering the poor air quality in Delhi. The court's concern is that the current 18% GST makes air purifiers unaffordable for the common man.
The overall air quality index was recorded at 426 which falls in the 'severe' category, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Builders in the city must engage only the vehicles fitted with a tracking system for the transportation of construction materials, the guidelines said.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
Experts said while meteorological conditions were "moderately" favourable for dispersion of pollutants, a "very high" number of farm fires in Punjab was the primary reason for "severe" air quality.
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.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 463 at 11.30 am, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
The city's overall air quality index stood at 306 on Friday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's mobile application SAMEER, the city recorded an air quality index of 168, which falls in the 'moderate' category, much better than Monday's AQI of 221, which falls in the 'poor' category.
The clinics are expected to operate for at least two hours daily, particularly between September and March -- the period when air pollution levels are typically high.
"The overall Delhi's Air Quality Index is in the very poor category with few Delhi locations entering at higher zone but that will be short lived. This is mainly because the extremely calm local surface winds which were prevailing yesterday are likely to increase slightly and may further pick-up by Oct 26," SAFAR said.
Other Graded Response Action Plan measures like ban on diesel generators, hot mix plants, stone crushers and brick kilns, however, continue to remain in place.
'Most pollution boards across the country have unused funds. There is practically no reason why pollution should not be a political priority.'
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