Delhi-NCR's air quality registered ‘best daily average’ from Jan-Sept, says govt data

The period registered highest number of ‘Good’ to ‘Moderate’ air quality days, numbered at 193 with the AQI of below 200.

The Delhi-National Capital Region's Air Quality Index (AQI) from January to September this year has shown significant improvement compared to the past six years, registering as the ‘best daily average’. The period registered highest number of ‘Good’ to ‘Moderate’ air quality days, numbered at 193 with the AQI of below 200. The month of Septemeber also marked a ‘Good’ air quality day which was on September 10.

The period from January to September this year has also witnessed a substantial reduction in daily average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter) compared to the previous six years. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

According to a statement by the ministry of forest and climate change, the daily average AQI in the national capital during this period stood at 167, which is better than the values in the same period for the last five years, which were 184 in 2022, 180 in 2021, 188 in 2019, and 193 in 2018. Despite receiving lower rainfall in September 2023 (82.7 mm) compared to the previous year (165 mm), the daily average AQI for September 2023 was 108, comparable to the daily average AQI of 104 in September 2022, the release further said.

The period from January to September this year has also witnessed a substantial reduction in daily average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter) compared to the previous six years. The daily average PM2.5 concentration during January to August 2023 was around 73 µg/m³, lower than the range of 82-95 µg/m³ observed in the same period from 2017 to 2022 (excluding the COVID-affected year 2020), according to the statement from the ministry.

Similarly, the daily average PM10 concentration in Delhi for the same period in 2023 stood at about 169 µg/m³, significantly lower than the range of 183-215 µg/m³ recorded in the corresponding periods from 2017 to 2022 (excluding the COVID-affected year 2020).

Delhi govt announces ‘winter action plan’

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced this year's “winter action plan” saying that the pollution levels in the city have declined due to the government's efforts.

The number of days witnessing severe pollution levels declined in the last eight years due to several initiatives of the government, such as the introduction of electric buses and the EV Policy, among others, he said at a press conference.

As part of this plan, Kejriwal said that the expansion of the use of the “Pusa biodecomposer”, a solution developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, to treat stubble and turn it into manure. This year, it will be applied to 5,000 hectares of farmland, compared to 4,400 hectares in the previous year.

Additionally, the government will deploy 530 water sprinklers to address dust pollution and deploy 385 teams to inspect vehicles' pollution certificates and curb the use of older vehicles.