New Delhi: Delhiites are inhaling the lung cancer-causing pollutant – PM 2.5. The capital’s air quality index or AQI is in a severe category and the concentration of the fine, cancer-causing pollutant is spiking to emergency levels.
The PM 2.5 pollutant penetrates the lungs and causes chronic respiratory illnesses. It is nearly 100 times the safe limit set by World Health Organisation, NDTV reported.
Notably, curbs imposed in Delhi-NCR to tackle the pollution levels were lifted just two days back following improvement in the air. Given that air pollution is likely to worsen in the coming days, restrictions are back in place in the national capital.
With the worsening of air to dense fog, calm winds, and low temperatures, the forecast for the next two days is not any better. In fact, it is likely to dip, the report said. The Centre’s air quality panel, CAQM, said that the air quality is already in dark red zones in several parts of Delhi-NCR.
The air quality panel has now asked the industries to switch to cleaner fuels and banned the use of coal in the region. Even though, other dirty fuels like biomass and metallurgical coke are permitted in the national capital.
On January 4, the Centre’s air quality panel relaxed the stringent restrictions citing the forecast by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. According to experts, while the ban on coal is a welcome move, the government should look at a regional clean-up of the national capital. This would require giving benefits to industries to switch to natural gas.
