During the last five months, Delhi saw 115 poor and very poor days out of which 13 were in a severe category.
Even though Delhi lost its crown of being the most polluted city to Varanasi and Muzaffarpur, it continues to breathe the toxic air.
While the city did fare well than several North Indian cities, in the past few months Delhi did not observe a single good air quality day.
Emissions are not the only thing responsible for air pollution in the national capital, but weather conditions also play an important role. Delhiites did not breathe clean air even for a single day during these last five months.
While several measures were taken by the Delhi Government including the Odd-Even Formula, and a few car-free days, air quality continues to remain poor in most parts of Delhi-NCR. Due to cold weather conditions, schools remained closed for almost the entire January.
A slight improvement cannot be ruled out, as in December and January, the national capital stood sixth as far as bad air quality is concerned losing its top spot to other North Indian cities. However, the situation remains alarming. Places like Anand Vihar and RK Puram are recording poor air quality even today.
As Delhi's air continues to deteriorate drastically, only a certain number of odd even days are not enough. Something more needs to be done to ensure that the national capital becomes a pollution free zone.
Image Credit: timesofindia.com