Environment

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) The national capital recorded its air quality in the very poor category on Friday morning, and it is likely to enter the "severe" zone on Diwali night.

The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 330 at 9 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 314 on Thursday.

New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) Delhi woke up to a grey morning as an apocalyptic smog blotted out the sun from the sky and smudged landmarks from view with air quality inching closer to emergency levels on Tuesday.

Air quality monitoring stations at Mandir Marg, Punjabi Bagh, Pusa, Rohini, Patparganj, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Najafgarh, Sri Aurobindo Marg and Okhla Phase 2 maxed out as air quality indexes hit the 500 mark, Central Pollution Control Board data showed.

New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday imposed a total ban on sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR) from the midnight of November 9 to the midnight of November 30.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel clarified that the direction will apply to all cities and towns in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November (as per available data of last year) fell under the 'poor' and above categories.

New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) The national capital's air quality remained severe for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, with calm wind speed exacerbating the effect of stubble burning.

V K Soni, the head of the India Meteorological Department's environment research centre, said a major improvement in Delhi-NCR's air quality was highly unlikely in the coming days.

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to ensure there is no smog in Delhi-NCR as it was informed that the commission for air quality management will start functioning from today.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian posted the pleas related to air pollution for hearing after the Diwali vacation.

The Centre on Thursday appointed former Chief Secretary of Delhi M M Kutty chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (AQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) A layer of haze lingered over the national capital and its suburbs on Thursday morning, with raging farm fires and a fall in the wind speed and temperatures pushing air quality to the worst levels in around a year.

As the skies hung heavy and acrid over the region, people complained of itchy throat and watery eyes.

Kanpur: The city's air quality is not healthy as the weather gazers say. The air quality index rests at 366 on Sunday evening here. The hourly temperature at 4 pm has been recorded at 33 degrees Celsius here.

The air quality being unhealthy brings trouble to the residents. Even elders are not feeling safe from the feverish state, headache and body pain. The children up to 12 years of age suffer from cough and other symptoms.

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) The national capital's air quality was recorded in the very poor category on Friday morning, while a government forecasting agency said some improvement is likely due to favourable wind speed.

On Thursday, the city's air quality index (AQI) touched severe levels for a brief period before slipping back into the very poor category.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitoring agency, SAFAR, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution was 36 percent on Thursday -- the maximum so far this season.

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The national capital's overall air quality inched closer to the 'severe' category on Thursday morning as pollution levels rose sharply after a marginal reduction, primarily due to calm winds and spike in farm fires.

The city recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 392 at 10 am. The 24-hour average AQI was 297 on Wednesday, 312 on Tuesday, 353 on Monday, 349 on Sunday, 345 on Saturday and 366 on Friday.

Ghaziabad, Oct 27 (PTI) A total of 121 polluting factories have been razed in Ghaziabad's Loni town since October 15, with a dozen units being demolished on Tuesday, District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said.

To contain air pollution, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) from October 15.

Pandey told PTI that the district administration is taking all steps to curb air pollution, with polluting units being demolished and hefty fines being imposed on violators.