Delhi woke up to ‘very poor’ air quality for yet another day on Thursday, even as pollution levels showed a marginal improvement. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 312 around 7 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
While the reading was slightly better than Wednesday morning’s AQI of 341, air pollution across the national capital continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ range. Prolonged exposure to such conditions poses significant health risks, particularly for children, senior citizens and people with respiratory ailments.
Data from the CPCB showed elevated AQI levels across several parts of the city. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 379, followed by RK Puram at 359, Chandni Chowk at 361, Punjabi Bagh at 338, Ashok Vihar at 333, Wazirpur at 336, Bawana at 323, ITO at 331, and Dwarka Sector 8 at 342. All these locations continued to fall under the ‘very poor’ category.
Adding to the discomfort, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported moderate to dense fog at several places across Delhi. The temperature hovered around 7.4 degrees Celsius at 7 am, worsening the already challenging weather conditions.
Amid the persistent air quality concerns, the Delhi government on Wednesday announced that parking charges at authorised parking sites will be doubled whenever GRAP Stage III (severe air quality with AQI between 401–450) or Stage IV (severe-plus with AQI above 450) is implemented. The move is aimed at curbing the use of private vehicles during high-pollution episodes.
According to the notification, parking facilities owned and operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have been exempted from the revised parking charges.
The decision also draws on findings from a 2015 comprehensive study by IIT Kanpur on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The study noted that vehicles account for around 19.7 per cent of PM10 and 25.1 per cent of PM2.5 emissions during winter, and 6.4 per cent of PM10 and 8.5 per cent of PM2.5 during summer. On an annual basis, vehicular emissions contribute about 18 per cent of methane (CH4), 92 per cent of nitrous oxide (N2O) and 30 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Delhi.
The capital currently has approximately 82.4 lakh registered vehicles. There are 677 authorised parking facilities with an approved capacity of around 1,06,037 vehicles, excluding parking areas at 91 DMRC sites.
The notification further stated that the policy aligns with directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has urged authorities to deploy destination buses and take coordinated steps to discourage the use of private vehicles, including two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles, in order to rein in air pollution in the national capital.
