New Delhi: Delhi residents may have to ditch their jogging sessions near Diwali as the air in the national capital is set to turn toxic.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, residents have been advised not to venture out for jogs and run in the first ten days of November as toxic fumes from the stubble-burning regions of Punjab and Haryana could gush in because of a change in wind direction.
Apart from this, the board- led task force on Friday has made a slew of recommendations to the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), including a ban on construction activities in the Delhi-NCR region for 10 days and shutting down of coal ad bio-mass based industries from November 4-10.
What is more is that, these pollutants don’t dissipate easily due to low morning temperatures, along with other key factors such as increased traffic, and unrestricted use of firecrackers on Diwali.
Advisories have also been issued in public interest, urging people to curb the usage of private, especially diesel, vehicles as the air quality is expected to experience a sharp dip around the time of Diwali, a Times of India report said.
Prashant Gargava, member secretary, CPCB told TOI, the task force reviewed the air quality status and inputs from IMD on meteorology. Considering the horrible experiences of past two years, the task force decided to take these “proactive” measures forward to the decision making authority, EPCA.
Currently, Delhi’s air quality is at the “very poor” level and is worsening every day. If pollution continues to increase at such staggering rates, the capital’s air quality may soon enter the “severe” zone, which is the worst level of 401-500 on the AQI scale.
Dr T K Joshi, a member of the task force on air pollution told TOI, “Any physical exertion, jogging and running should be avoided. People should also do wet sweeping inside their homes. Incense sticks should also be avoided as these cause massive harm.”
People with cardiac and pulmonary diseases, older adults and children should remain indoors and keep outdoor activities at the lowest when the air quality turns severe.
According to an EPCA member, the panel is yet to receive the CPCB-led task force’s recommendations. And will take a call once the recommendations reach the chairman’s office, TOI reported.
Earlier, on Thursday, EPCA told the NCR to be extra careful as air quality is likely to worsen from November 1. On October 15, the Graded Response Action Plan came into force in Delhi-NCR, for the second consecutive year.
Comments
0 comment