Public health emergency declared in Delhi-NCR region

NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court-mandated panel on Friday declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region and banned construction activity till November 5 as the air quality dipped to “severe-plus” levels.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that Schools remain closed in Delhi till November 5.

In a letter to the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) chairperson Bhure Lal said the air quality in Delhi-NCR deteriorated further on Thursday night and is now at the “severe-plus” level. "

He also said that “We have to take this as a public health emergency as air pollution will have an adverse health impact on all, particularly our children.”

According to reports, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 1 pm on Friday was recorded at 480, which falls in the "severe" category.

It should be mentioned that, an AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe.'

On Friday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has distributed over 50 lakh masks to school children and appealed to other residents to use them.

He also blamed the neighboring states for turning Delhi into a gas chamber.

The chief minister also met EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal and assured him of all cooperation in implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

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