Chandigarh: The Haryana The government on Sunday announced four districts of NCR- Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jhajjar and sonepat To shut down schools, stop operations and demolition activities for seven days in view of deterioration in air quality.
According to SN Roy, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment Department, the air quality standards in NCR and adjoining areas are well below the accepted norms and it is reported that this level is a health hazard especially to children. This condition can damage health to the level of unbearable proportions.
The matter was taken into cognizance by the Supreme Court and after which a meeting of the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) was held in NCR and adjoining areas on Sunday.
“After considering the present situation, Haryana Government has decided to take prompt action with a view to reduce the air pollutants immediately. It has been instructed that all schools in the four districts will remain closed and all government and private establishments will conduct their non-essential activities from home. The idea is to reduce the load of vehicles by 40% off the roads,” Roy said in the order.
The order further states that all construction and demolition activities should be completely stopped. There should be no place to burn garbage. Manual sweeping of roads should be stopped. Continuous sprinkling of water should be done in all the four districts to reduce air pollution.
After remaining in the “severe” category for the past two days, Gurgaon’s air quality turned “poor” due to better wind speed in the area.
The AQI on Sunday was 287 which was 441 on Saturday. The district had seen a “poor” AQI 10 days ago. It has been in the “very poor” and “severe” category since November 2.
According to the pollution department, the air quality is likely to be “very poor” as the region will see a drop in minimum temperatures in the coming days.
On Sunday, one of the four aerial surveillance stations in Gurgaon recorded the AQI in the ‘very poor’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board a ‘very poor’ AQI can cause “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”. Gwal Hill Monitoring Station recorded the highest AQI of 302, followed by Sector 51 with an AQI of 292, Vikas Sadan with an AQI of 297 and Teri Village at 257.
HSPCB officials said that as per the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the civic authorities and other agencies are following all the measures. “All civic agencies are managing the situation on the ground to ensure that the air quality is breathable. Though the AQI has improved on Sunday, there is a possibility of a drop in air in the coming days due to fall in temperature,” said an HSPCB official.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurgaon recorded a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Air quality experts said low temperatures are currently preventing pollutants from spreading closer to the ground.
According to SN Roy, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment Department, the air quality standards in NCR and adjoining areas are well below the accepted norms and it is reported that this level is a health hazard especially to children. This condition can damage health to the level of unbearable proportions.
The matter was taken into cognizance by the Supreme Court and after which a meeting of the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) was held in NCR and adjoining areas on Sunday.
“After considering the present situation, Haryana Government has decided to take prompt action with a view to reduce the air pollutants immediately. It has been instructed that all schools in the four districts will remain closed and all government and private establishments will conduct their non-essential activities from home. The idea is to reduce the load of vehicles by 40% off the roads,” Roy said in the order.
The order further states that all construction and demolition activities should be completely stopped. There should be no place to burn garbage. Manual sweeping of roads should be stopped. Continuous sprinkling of water should be done in all the four districts to reduce air pollution.
After remaining in the “severe” category for the past two days, Gurgaon’s air quality turned “poor” due to better wind speed in the area.
The AQI on Sunday was 287 which was 441 on Saturday. The district had seen a “poor” AQI 10 days ago. It has been in the “very poor” and “severe” category since November 2.
According to the pollution department, the air quality is likely to be “very poor” as the region will see a drop in minimum temperatures in the coming days.
On Sunday, one of the four aerial surveillance stations in Gurgaon recorded the AQI in the ‘very poor’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board a ‘very poor’ AQI can cause “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”. Gwal Hill Monitoring Station recorded the highest AQI of 302, followed by Sector 51 with an AQI of 292, Vikas Sadan with an AQI of 297 and Teri Village at 257.
HSPCB officials said that as per the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the civic authorities and other agencies are following all the measures. “All civic agencies are managing the situation on the ground to ensure that the air quality is breathable. Though the AQI has improved on Sunday, there is a possibility of a drop in air in the coming days due to fall in temperature,” said an HSPCB official.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurgaon recorded a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Air quality experts said low temperatures are currently preventing pollutants from spreading closer to the ground.
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