Delhi’s air quality still in ‘very poor’ category for fifth day in a row, AQI stands at 362

New Delhi, Nov 18: The national capital continued to choke for the fifth consecutive day today, with the Delhi Government shutting all educational institutions until further orders, extending the ban on construction and demolition till November 21 and permitting work from home for its employees until Sunday. According to the System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR), the overall Air Quality Index reduced from 379 on Wednesday to 362 today.
The AQI in areas adjoining Delhi was also very poor -Faridabad (378), Ghaziabad (361), Greater Noida (362), Gurugram (344) and Noida (356). The IMD said relief was unlikely until after Sunday when calm wind conditions are predicted to emerge making dispersion of pollutants difficult. The Delhi government will hire 1,000 private CNG-run buses to augment the public transport system as an emergency measure aimed at curbing vehicular pollution, according to Environment Minister Gopal Rai. The process to hire the buses will begin on Thursday.
NCR state governments have been directed to allow work from home (WFH) for at least 50 percent of their staff in offices in NCR till Sunday and encourage private establishments to follow suit. Trucks carrying non-essential items have been banned from entering Delhi till Sunday. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Centre. Hearing the case, Justice Surya Kant today said those sitting in 5 stars in Delhi keep blaming farmers for rising air pollution in the national capital.