Delhi gasps for breath as Air Quality Index remains in 'severe' category

New Delhi: Delhi residents continued to breathe polluted air with the Air Quality Index remaining in the 'severe' category on Saturday.
The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) informed that Delhi's overall air quality was in the 'severe' category with the overall AQI at 533 at 6 am today.

While talking to ANI, some students were extremely vocal about the problem caused by pollution and the efforts to tackle it.

Gaurav, a 10th grader out for cycling, said, "Earlier, we did not get tired while cycling after a short time. But now with such levels of pollution, we get tired. It causes pain and a burning sensation in the lungs. It causes a lot of breathlessness. Visibility is also low because of pollution. Bursting firecrackers is a cause of it, they were used in spite of a ban. Pollution control is dependent on the conduct of people, how they follow instructions of the government."

Another student Harsh said, "Yes, there was pollution and plenty of fog. We feel breathless while cycling. Visibility is low. Firecrackers were banned by the government but they were still being sold by some people. There is a lot of difference in levels of pollution after Diwali."

Another student expressed his disappointment with the attitude of people in tackling pollution and blamed firecrackers, vehicular pollution for the levels of air pollution that affect the national capital every winter.

"This is extremely dangerous for people with Asthma and breathing problems since they already struggle with breathlessness due to their disease and such levels of pollution make it worse for them," he said.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous. (ANI)

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• #pollution
• #Air Quality Index
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• #severe category