Delhi-NCR AQI Alert: As Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) continue to face ‘very poor’ Air Quality Index (AQI), the Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that the measures taken by authorities so far have been a “total failure” in effectively curbing the rising levels of air pollution in the region.

ANI reported that a bench led by Chief Justice of India CJI) Surya Kant remarked that any meaningful reduction in pollution would require broader and long-term planning rather than ad-hoc responses.

The apex court also stated that the air pollution crisis has become an annual feature, and a long-term plan needs to be developed by the CAQM and implemented in a phased manner. It asks CAQM to revisit its long-term measures to deal with the air pollution issue.

Furthermore, with respect to various petitions highlighting the inadequacy of recent measures aimed at protecting children, such as the Delhi government’s directives to shut schools or allow them to function in a hybrid mode, the top court noted that these were merely temporary policy decisions taken by the authorities to mitigate health risks.

The bench refused to interfere with the decision of the Delhi government to direct the closure of schools or the hybrid model of schools. 

“The short-term measures are only to provide temporary protection to children and elderly persons. These are purely interim policy decisions. At best, they can be viewed as an extension of vacations, as schools are anyway scheduled to remain closed for 10 to 15 days during the winter,” the Court observed.

Delhi AQI Today

According to CPCB data, several areas in the capital city, including Bawana (376), ITO (360), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (324), and Narela (342), continued to experience poor air quality, placing them in the ‘very poor’ category. 

However, many areas in Delhi showed slight variations in air quality on Wednesday morning. For instance, Burari Crossing recorded an AQI of 298 (Poor), which is relatively better than other locations in the city. Other areas, such as IGI Airport Terminal 3 (263), IIT Delhi (300), and CRRI Mathura Road (297), also recorded improved air quality but remained in the ‘poor’ category. 

0-50 is ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.