'Covid patients have infected lungs and the pollutants will further damage it.'
The Delhi government has been following the practice of banning all kinds of firecrackers for the last three years.
The pollution board said that the situation will improve further by Sunday if favourable conditions prevail.
The fire was in the middle of the wetlands, fire brigade officials said.
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.
The top court did some tough-talking and had warned that the administration at large will be made accountable even if there is a single incident of stubble burning henceforth.
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.
Firecracker bursting till late Sunday night led to a spike in pollution levels amid low temperatures.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down.
The AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships is taking place in an indoor stadium from Thursday through to November 24 but teams are complaining about a toxic smog hanging over the city, caused by seasonal burning of crop stubble and emissions from vehicles and industry.
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.'
Among the cities that have fully implemented their projects are Agra, Varanasi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Pune, Surat, and Vadodara
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission notice over his claim the Haryana government was 'mixing poison' in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state in the recent past has been 'highly contaminated and extremely poisonous' for human health.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Tuesday ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2022.
In a statement, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the air pollution had reached the severe level and asked people to follow the dos and don'ts as mentioned in the advisory.
Top officials of the environment ministry, Delhi Development Authority and municipal commissioners also stayed away from the deliberations.
Airlines must ensure that all check-in counters at the Delhi airport are fully staffed to minimise passenger inconvenience as smog has started affecting the flight operations, Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu directed on Wednesday. The minister gave this direction during a meeting with representatives of major airlines, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
The Yamuna river gets polluted due to bathing by floating population, throwing flowers, garlands and other worship material as well as the industrial affluent.
Air toxics emissions are high from older vehicles.
During a hearing on Friday, the bench noted that Mumbai was witnessing a decline in the bursting of firecrackers.
Nepal has sharply increased permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by 36 per cent and also introduced a slew of measures aimed at controlling garbage pollution on the world's tallest peak, officials said.
When it closed close down the copper plant at Thoothukudi in 2013. Its orders were held illegal by the NGT on procedural grounds
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and the states in the National Capital Region (NCR) to implement the orders of the panel on air quality management to curb air pollution while ruing that some sections of the media have 'portrayed' it as a 'villain' which wants to close down schools in New Delhi.
The alarming pollution level is literally 'capital punishment' for Delhi'ites who are being robbed of three years of their lives due to it, Delhi High Court said on Thursday, holding government's inaction and stubble burning in Punjab as being responsible for the "genocide".
The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Centre and the NCR states to continue implementing for few days the measures to ensure improvement in air quality, saying that preventive actions are needed in anticipation to curb pollution even as it wondered what signals are being sent to the world.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of neglecting the welfare of backward sections, Dalits, tribals, and minorities. Gandhi promised a caste census in Delhi if the Congress forms the government, echoing his national call for removing the 50 percent cap on reservations. He also criticized Kejriwal's governance, drawing parallels with Modi's alleged reliance on propaganda and false promises. The Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc, but are contesting the upcoming Delhi assembly polls separately. Gandhi's speech highlights the growing political tension ahead of the polls, where the Congress aims to regain its foothold in Delhi.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 14.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Firecrackers were burst outside the CM's residence after his release from the Tihar Jail on Friday evening. The Aam Aadmi Party workers had gathered to welcome their leader.
"Let the high court decide, we will not get into this," the bench said.
The report on the alleged liquor scam, a hot button issue in the run-up to the elections, claimed a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 941.53 crore, saying timely permissions were not taken for opening the liquor vends in non-conforming municipal wards.
The rains could lead to a rise in the water levels of the Yamuna, which has been flowing above the danger mark of 205.33 metres for days now.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The top court called the pollution in Delhi-NCR as atrocious and said no one is safe even inside homes. "It is too much. No one is safe even inside their house. It is atrocious," the bench said.
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
A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman said it is allowing Tamil Nadu's appeal against the National Green Tribunal order only on grounds of maintainability.
Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls scheduled to be held early next year, state Congress chief Devender Yadav said on Friday that the party will contest on all 70 seats and there would be no alliance.
Under his leadership, India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change, passed the landmark Forest Rights Act to protect the rights of tribal communities and established the National Green Tribunal to safeguard the environment through swift legal action.
The air quality in the capital has remained very poor or severe on most of the days in November so far.
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said that no match should take place in Delhi until the pollution levels are brought under control.
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