New Delhi: Despite warnings from a green court and environmental authorities, stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana reached unprecedented levels to further deteriorate the air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region today. Dry and cold north-westerly winds blowing from Punjab and Haryana at speeds of 10-15 km per hour, according to weather analysts, will continue for the next few days, further worsening air quality in Delhi-NCR.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), nine of the 10 monitoring stations across Delhi recorded "very poor" air quality, with pollutant PM2.5 ranging between 313-366 units.
In Delhi, Noida and Gurugram, air quality deteriorated in the past 24 hours, with the air quality index (AQI) recorded at "very poor". The index value was 344 in Delhi, 363 in Noida, and 318 in Gurugram. On Tuesday, the AQI at these three places was 309, 315, and 345 respectively.
Satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations' show stubble-burning reached an all-time high with both Punjab and Haryana marked in red (depicting fire).
"It (stubble-burning) was an action point, but nothing much was done against stubble- burning as the National Green Tribunal is already involved," EPCA member Usmaan Naseem told IANS.
The unabated stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana, estimated to be around 35 million tonnes, was banned by the NGT in November 2015. However, farmers continued to burn paddy straw.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), nine of the 10 monitoring stations across Delhi recorded "very poor" air quality, with pollutant PM2.5 ranging between 313-366 units.
In Delhi, Noida and Gurugram, air quality deteriorated in the past 24 hours, with the air quality index (AQI) recorded at "very poor". The index value was 344 in Delhi, 363 in Noida, and 318 in Gurugram. On Tuesday, the AQI at these three places was 309, 315, and 345 respectively.
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Satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations' show stubble-burning reached an all-time high with both Punjab and Haryana marked in red (depicting fire).
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"It (stubble-burning) was an action point, but nothing much was done against stubble- burning as the National Green Tribunal is already involved," EPCA member Usmaan Naseem told IANS.
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The unabated stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana, estimated to be around 35 million tonnes, was banned by the NGT in November 2015. However, farmers continued to burn paddy straw.
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