Six weather stations across Delhi recorded over 100 mm of rain in a single day, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Thursday, categorising it as an "extremely intense spell".
The capital witnessed a clear morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling a notch below normal at 14.6 degrees Celsius.
A number of persons fainted after experiencing 'burning sensation' in their throat and chest. Many people who were asleep woke up in panic and scurried out of their homes and alerted neighbours and all of them soon reached the main roads unsure of what to do.
The Delhi government has banned construction and demolition activities in the city till November 21.
Amid a spike in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to ensure crop residue burning was stopped "forthwith", saying it cannot let "people die" due to pollution.
Debates on TV news channels are causing more pollution than anybody, with statements made in the court being taken out of context, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
A bench of the NGT, headed by its chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, directed that the order will also apply to all cities and towns in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November (as per available data of last year) falls under 'poor' or worse category.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government will consider the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Chemicals and Petrochemicals sector to make India a manufacturing hub for such products. In view of stringent pollution control regulations and rising labour cost, she said, global manufacturers in the chemical industry are looking at diversifying their products and production capability and India stands out as an alternative destination for manufacturing. Besides, India offers a large domestic market, she said while addressing the third edition of the summit on 'Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India'.
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'.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that primary schools will be closed from Saturday in view of spike in pollution levels in the national capital.
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta's Sterlite Copper has come out with a fresh notification inviting expressions of interest (EoIs) to supply raw materials like copper concentrate, imported thermal coal, rock phosphate and petroleum products, among others, as part of its preparatory measures to restart production at its Thoothukudi unit in Tamil Nadu. This plant is likely to restart operations if a Supreme Court verdict goes in favour of the company. On June 12, the company had invited EoIs for carrying out plant 'restart activities'.
Violation of the ban will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, they said. For effective enforcement of the ban, national and state-level control rooms have been set up and special enforcement teams formed to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned SUP items, officials in the ministry said.
Over the past three trading sessions, the stock of Cummins India has gained about nine per cent on strong January-March quarter (Q4) results and good near-term prospects. Its Q4 performance was led by a healthy 29 per cent revenue growth over the year ago quarter. This was largely on the back of a 33 per cent jump in domestic revenues while exports witnessed a growth of 17 per cent.
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.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
The Bombay high court said on Wednesday that if the use of loudspeakers and sound systems beyond permissible noise levels was harmful during the Ganesh festival then it also has the same effect during the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi processions.
India captain Rohit Sharma assured BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly that his team is ready to play Sunday's opening T20 International against Bangladesh despite growing concerns about severe air pollution.
'If businessmen should be included in the political process -- which is essential in my opinion -- they need to have the freedom to express themselves and to take stands against the government of the day, without fear of reprisals and attacks on their business.'
Police have sealed the area while a fire brigade and an ambulance have been deployed there.
According to forecasting agencies, the city is set to record its best air quality for the day after Diwali since 2015 on Tuesday.
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.
The minimum temperature in the capital dropped to 9.6 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal and the lowest this season so far. The maximum is likely to settle around 27 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said.
Low temperature -- Delhi recorded a minimum of 13.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the season's lowest so far -- allowed accumulation of pollutants, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that crop residue burning in Punjab and some other states adjacent to Delhi have to be stopped and solution has to found to reduce the pollution level in the national capital region (NCR).
The ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) items kicks in from Friday, with state governments initiating an enforcement campaign to identify and close down units engaging in production, distribution, stocking and sale of such items, officials said. Though several manufacturers have said they are not prepared to implement the ban due to a lack of alternatives, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had on Tuesday said the government had given enough time to the industry and the general public to prepare for the ban on SUP items and it hopes for everyone's cooperation in implementing it from July 1. Violation of the ban will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, officials in the Union environment ministry said.
The apex court also directed the Centre not to renew for possessing, stocking and selling of fire crackers licences till further orders.
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.
The bench said when the people were running, the police chased them and opened fire.
Areas in the National Capital Region -- Noida and Gurugram -- recorded an AQI of 529 and 478 respectively both in the highly toxic 'severe'.
Dr Ashish Mishra, consultant interventional cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospitals, explains how smoking and alcohol can impair your heart health and lead to cardiac arrest.
Here's what the national capital needs to do to ensure the residents stop breathing toxic fumes.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Delhi government's order putting a comprehensive ban on manufacturing, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city, saying people's health is important.
The big question is whether the regulators will have the courage to prosecute the bigwigs in the cities.
People living in Delhi should be more concerned about pollution levels rather than hosting a cricket match, said former India opener Gautam Gambhir.
The problem is so severe that multiple agencies have issued several precautionary measures.
Uncertainty looms over Lanka-Bangla World Cup clash due to severe air pollution
The central government's Great Nicobar development project, proposed around an unprecedented transhipment port, will be executed to keep environmental impact minimal, and is essential as it is of national importance, the government has said amid calls to abort the controversial project due to ecological concerns, the Centre said in an official statement.
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.
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.
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