NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (Portal) – Overnight rain in New Delhi and its suburbs brought some relief to the Indian capital on Friday, where authorities were considering seeding clouds to improve the city’s toxic air.
The city, which until Thursday was the world’s most polluted city, recorded an improvement in its air quality index (AQI) to 158 on Friday – a welcome change from last week’s “dangerous” 400-500 levels, according to Swiss group IQAir .
After a period of rain that helped increase wind speeds, the local government postponed its decision to restrict vehicle use between November 13th and 20th.
The rule allows the movement of vehicles with odd number plates on odd dates and with even numbers on even dates. Environmental experts previously said it was more effective at decongesting roads than at reducing pollution.
Local environment minister Gopal Rai said the government would review the decision after Diwali, the festival of lights, when many people defy a ban on fireworks, leading to a rise in air pollution.
The India Meteorological Department forecast intermittent rain over the city and neighboring areas on Friday, but the Indian capital is expected to remain largely dry on Saturday.
[1/3]A man with a child on his shoulder walks across a field in the morning smog in New Delhi, India, November 9, 2023. Portal/Anushree Fadnavis ACQUIRE LICENSE RIGHTS
Kolkata in eastern India topped the world with an AQI of 189, while air quality in India’s financial capital Mumbai also improved significantly due to rainfall in nearby coastal areas.
This year, attention to deteriorating air quality cast a shadow over the Cricket World Cup hosted by India.
Across the border in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, heavy rains improved air quality, which fell to 129 compared to 422 earlier in the week, prompting a four-day closure of most businesses and offices.
Amir Mir, the information minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, of which Lahore is the provincial capital, said markets would now be allowed to open on Friday but restaurants, offices, schools, cinemas and parks would remain closed until Monday.
Scientists and authorities had already planned to seed clouds in New Delhi around November 20 to trigger heavy rain – the first such attempt to clear the air.
A thick layer of smog envelopes the city every year before winter as heavy, cold air traps dust, vehicle exhaust and smoke from burning crop stubble in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
The local government of the city of 20 million, which covers an area of about 1,500 square kilometers, closed all schools and halted construction earlier this week to curb pollution.
Reporting by Tanvi Mehta, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Peter Graff
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab