Congress Targets Central Government as Delhi Air Quality Enters Very Poor Zone

The Congress party criticized the central government on Monday after air quality in Delhi dropped into the 'very poor' classification for the first time this season. The city's Air Quality Index hit 312 in the morning, crossing the threshold into the 301 to 400 range.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, is causing severe air quality issues across the capital and northern India. He argued that the National Clean Air Programme relies too much on measuring PM10 rather than the finer PM2.5, which poses a greater threat to health.

Ramesh pointed out that India's safety benchmarks for PM2.5 exceed the World Health Organisation's daily limits by four times and annual limits by eight times. He urged the government to rapidly update and strictly implement these standards.

When Delhi's air quality degrades to 'very poor', authorities can activate Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan. The Commission for Air Quality Management decides whether to impose these extra restrictions based on weather and pollution forecasts.