Okhla among 12 pollution hotspots in Delhi
Okhla is one of the 13 pollution hotspots identified in Delhi, alongside Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, and Dwarka. The Delhi government has devised specific mitigation plans for addressing pollution in Okhla and these other areas.
On Monday, parts of Delhi witnessed air pollution levels reaching the ‘severe’ category. The city’s overall air quality index (AQI) remained in the ‘very poor’ range for the third consecutive day, as reported by weather-monitoring agencies.
At 4 pm, the city’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 347, marking a deterioration from 325 on Sunday, 304 on Saturday, and 261 (categorized as ‘poor’) on Friday, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Rohini (AQI 406), Wazirpur (AQI 416), and Mundka (AQI 414) experienced ‘severe’ air quality conditions, with AQI values exceeding 400. In neighboring areas, Ghaziabad recorded an AQI of 272, Faridabad had an AQI of 300, Gurugram reported an AQI of 203, Noida had an AQI of 303, and Greater Noida registered an AQI of 336.
On Sunday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai expressed that while the instances of stubble burning in Punjab have decreased, vehicular emissions have become a significant source of air pollution in the city.
He called for the central government to implement a stringent ban on buses using low-quality diesel in the National Capital Region (NCR) regions of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
