The govt plans to hire 1,000 private CNG buses to improve public transportation...
Digital Desk: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Thursday compared the air quality in Delhi to that in Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. He claimed that there are days when Delhi's air quality is so poor that it makes him miss his childhood in Los Angeles when kids were told not to play outside.
The national capital is currently dealing with a serious air pollution crisis as Mr. Garcetti makes his remarks. For the third day in a row, a hazy, smoke-filled haze pervaded Delhi, contributing to the city's still bad air quality.
"It reminds me of my childhood in Los Angeles, where the air was the most filthy in the country, to be in Delhi on a day like this. Whereas my daughter's teacher warned her not to go outside to play today when I dropped her off at school, our teachers warned us similar things," Mr. Garcetti stated.
Scientists predict a dramatic increase in pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region over the next two weeks due to the ongoing bad weather and field fires. In several places, the air quality index has already surpassed 400. Physicians worry that children's and elderly people's asthma and lung issues will get worse due to rising pollution levels.
Over the past few days, Delhi's air quality index has declined, peaking at 351 this morning at 10 am, before falling to 261 on Friday and rising to 364 on Wednesday. Punjabi Bagh, Bawana, Mundka, and Anand Vihar are among the Delhi areas that had readings of extremely poor air quality, with PM2 levels over 400. Five levels, up to 420 micrograms per cubic meter, were six to seven times higher than the acceptable limit in these places.
Gopal Rai, Delhi's environment minister, on Wednesday declared a five-day moratorium on buildings in places where the air quality index is higher than 400.
The government has started the "Red Light On Gaadi Off" campaign to lessen vehicle pollution, and it plans to hire 1,000 private CNG buses to improve public transportation.
The AQI readings in nearby cities ranged from 230 in Gurugram and Ghaziabad to 344 in Greater Noida; the highest level, 324, was recorded in Faridabad.
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