Delhi air quality: Toxic haze engulfs Delhi day after Diwali as AQI plummets to…; BJP govt accuses Punjab’s AAP regime of…

Delhi Air Quality: A toxic haze enveloped Delhi on Tuesday as AQI levels plummeted in the national capital day after Diwali due to people bursting firecrackers on Diwali night beyond the two-hour limit set by the Supreme Court, even as the city’s BJP government has blamed the AAP dispensation in neighbouring Punjab for the surge in pollution, claiming it “forced” farmers to burn a record amount of paddy stubble the previous night.

What is Delhi’s current AQI?

According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 359, in the ‘very poor’ category, at 11 am. It was 352 at 8 am, 346 at 5 am, 347 at 6 am and 351 at 7 am. It stated that of the total 38 monitoring stations, 35 were in the ‘red zone’, indicating ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality.

While 31 were in the ‘very poor’ category, four were in the ‘severe’ category, according to the CPCB’s SAMEER app, which provides real-time AQI data from monitoring stations. Jahangirpuri recorded an AQI of 409, Wazirpur 408, Bawana 432 and Burari 405 — all in the ‘severe’ category, the data revealed.

On  October 15, the Supreme Court had passed an order allowing the use of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali, which was celebrated on Monday. However, many flouted the court’s directions, with celebrations continuing late into the night, PTI reported.

Why BJP blamed Punjab’s AAP govt?

Meanwhile, Delhi’s BJP government has blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime in Punjab for the toxic haze in the capital city, alleging that the neighbouring state forced farmers to burn a record amount of paddy stubble on Diwali night.

Addressing a presser on Tuesday, Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the AAP of “playing religion politics”, and alleged that while AAP leaders “condemned the Delhi CM, the BJP and Sanatan Dharma followers over festival celebrations”, large-scale stubble burning in AAP-ruled Punjab is the “real reason” for Delhi’s deteriorating air quality.

Sirsa said that every religion has the right to celebrate its festivals, indicating bursting of crackers is an indispensable way of celebrating Diwali.

The minister stressed that despite the lifting of the ban on green firecrackers this year, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) rose only marginally, from 345 before Diwali to 356 the next morning, an increase of “just 11 points”, and later the AQI ncreased by 32 units and in 2023 by 83 units.

“This little increase of just 11 points was observed this year even though it was reported that the highest number of stubble-burning incidents occurred last night, We admit with pride that our government has given people the opportunity to celebrate Diwali in the traditional way,” Sirsa said, while videos purportedly of burning of crop residue in Punjab.

(With PTI inputs)