Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav over the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital and urged the central and state governments to remove the ‘dirty smog’ that Delhiites breathe. Vadra, Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, was returning to Delhi after election campaigning in Bachhwara, Bihar. In his post on
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that now the time has come that we all come together and do something about this, regardless of our political compulsions. He further said, “The Central and State Governments should take immediate action. We will all support and cooperate with whatever steps they take to mitigate this appalling situation. Year after year the citizens of Delhi fall victim to this toxicity and have no recourse.” Urging the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers to take immediate action, he said, “People suffering from respiratory problems, children commuting to school on a daily basis and especially senior citizens need immediate intervention to remove this dirty smog that we all are breathing.”
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AQI has deteriorated significantly in Delhi in the last few days. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), on Sunday morning, after the reduction in speed, the overall air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category. According to the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi, the wind speed from north-west direction reduced to less than 8 km per hour during the evening and night, thereby reducing the spread of pollutants. 17 monitoring stations recorded ‘severe’ air quality with readings above 400. The highest AQI of 439 was recorded in Wazirpur. According to CPCB’s Sameer app, 20 other centers recorded ‘very poor’ air quality with readings above 300. An air quality index between 0 to 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.