On most days, quality of air exceeded safe limits in Delhi

Several Indian cities, including Delhi, have far exceeded the prescribed limits of air pollutants as per Indian standards, a report released by Greenpeace India said. Delhi is the worst in terms of pollution in summers as well as in winters.

Several Indian cities, including Delhi, have far exceeded the prescribed limits of air pollutants as per Indian standards, a report released by Greenpeace India said. Delhi is the worst in terms of pollution in summers as well as in winters.

Delhi is the worst in terms of pollution in summers as well as in winters. (HT file photo)

The report analyses data of the pollution levels in 17 Indian cities provided by the National Air Quality Index (NAQI).

According to the report, as many as 15 of the 17 Indian cities with NAQI stations showed levels of air pollution that far exceed prescribed Indian standards. The high pollution figures recorded for well over 50% of the days that data was recorded between April and November indicate the continuing severity of air pollution, it said.

“As the political capital—and indeed, the most polluted of all cities— the bad air in Delhi gets the most attention. But scratch below the murky surface and you will find concentrations of PM2.5 in several other cities—Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Muzzafarpur and Faridabad, among others—that would justify the triggering of a ‘red alert.’ Even the government’s own, largely inadequate NAQI data reveals that 23 of the 32 stations across India have PM 2.5 levels that exceed the national standards,” said Sunil Dahiya, campaigner, Greenpeace India.

“The pollution levels in a few Indian cities have the embarrassing distinction of having exceeded the toxic levels of Beijing and other Chinese cities, demonstrating levels at least 10 times higher than the WHO standards, making air pollution truly a national emergency,” he said.