Increasing Pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR)- A Big Threat

The climatic conditions in India has lately been very critical. In comparison to all the other places, Delhi is the most polluted one. Whenever the visibility in the city goes down, a blanket of smog surrounds the National Capital Region (NCR). On April 3, 2018, the infamous PM2.5 levels at ITO drifted around 200 at 0600hrs according to international pollution monitoring website aqicn.org. It is double of the safe figure of 100. At the same time, the PM2.5 levels in Lodhi Road was at 190. 

At the Delhi Technological University on Bawana Road, the levels were 463 at 0600 hrs and came down to 353 in the subsequent hour. As the day passes by, the pollution levels also come down, but this fall in the pollution level is too minimal to be considered favourable. The nearby areas such as Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad are in no better shape. Despite this poor condition, no major action is being taken by the authorities. The construction keeps going, the traffic keeps flowing, industries keep functioning in the same way. Often the burning of paddy in Punjab and Haryana is held responsible for the poor quality of air in Delhi, but surprisingly no such activity happens to take place in the month of April. Lately, Delhi has become the first Indian city to roll out the Euro VI fuel. It is regarded as the world’s cleanest petrol and diesel. But this can only be of benefit if the cars are also well upgraded. On a large scale, it is extremely important that the issue of pollution must be addressed on a daily basis and not only on days when the situation becomes unbearable.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: http://zeenews.india.com/winter-long-gone-but-delhis-air-still-absolutely-poisonous-2095911.html