00:00It's the national capital waking up to a blanket of toxic smog.
00:04Now the air quality has plunged into the very poor category.
00:08That's what these images are telling you.
00:10According to the Central Pollution Control Board,
00:12the city has recorded an alarming level of 335 AQI till about 8am.
00:18Despite all the restrictions, there were widespread bursting of firecrackers.
00:22That's the reason why we are seeing a sharp spike in the pollution levels.
00:26This is triggering several noise pollution and this is what is leading to a complete choking of the national capital.
00:33The Delhi government already has enforced Grab Stage 2, but the worsening is still happening.
00:39The condition is getting from bad to worse.
00:41The air quality still remains under severe stress.
00:44Authorities are now advising people to stay indoors and to avoid outdoor activity
00:48to protect themselves from the toxic air.
00:51My colleague has filed this report.
00:53The Delhi and NCR have been closed.
01:23।
01:53तो नोईडा में इंदरापूरं में 400 के नीचे AQI है। हम लोग अक्छर धाम पे मौजूद हैं और यहां पर AQI 400 के उपर है।
02:02।
02:32My colleague Amit Bharadwaj is now joining me on this story.
02:37Amit, what we are seeing, the AQI already almost 400, which means that this year has turned toxic.
02:43There is an advisory also which has now been given by the experts.
02:47Stay indoors, do not move out if you do not need to.
02:55Aishwarya, the advisories can be given by the experts, health experts,
02:59but it is up to the government and up to the people of Delhi as to what kind of air quality they want
03:05for the children and the generations who live in the national capital and not only in Delhi
03:10but also the adjoining areas of Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Greta Noida.
03:15Because the picture that we are seeing right after the Diwali festivities is glim.
03:20Right behind me is Akshar Dham temple from where you saw a report filed by our colleague Himanshu.
03:26And as the camera will pan, you know, you won't be able to see anything clearly.
03:31There is haziness in the sky and many would argue that, look, the trend in the AQI does not suggest
03:37that this is happening because of the firecracker bursting which happened during the Diwali festivities.
03:43But for them, there is a reminder, gentlemen, this is October and not even November
03:49when you had Parali menace happening all through the northern India.
03:54And, you know, along with that, Diwali festivities, firecrackers would create a dangerous cocktail
03:59forcing everybody living in Delhi to feel like as if they are living in a gas chamber.
04:05And this is the third week of October where you and I and I fear, worry for the elderly and children
04:14and also those who have respiratory issues as to how they would have survived the night
04:20that we have witnessed the kind of firecracker, fireworks that has happened.
04:26You know, coming back to that expert opinion, experts were continuously speaking
04:30that there is years of hard work by the policymakers and more so by those who created campaigns
04:40to create awareness around firecrackers as to how we need to reduce such festivities
04:48while our belief, our faith is in place.
04:52We have a tradition of bursting firecrackers, but there was a lot of awareness as well
04:57over the years which had generated.
04:59When this ban on the, blanket ban on the firecrackers was removed,
05:05what we saw is the market was flooded with all sorts of crackers.
05:10You know, everybody was speaking about this, the fear that while you have allowed the green crackers,
05:15this is opening of the floodgates that the government agencies will not be able to handle
05:20and that's what has happened.
05:22We have seen in all the neighborhoods that you live around in NCR,
05:26why blame only the Delhi authorities, you know, you have Haryana, you have Uttar Pradesh.
05:33So, because of that, the numbers are speaking and even if you are not looking at the AQI monitors,
05:38you can feel the difficulty in breathing that people have gone through the entire night.
05:44Back to you, Ashwarya.
05:46Right, Amit, please stay on with me.
05:48Let us now break down.
05:49When we are telling you that Delhi is choking, we have data to back it.
05:53Let's just look at the AQI and how rapid the deterioration has been over the past few days.
05:58Now, if we talk about 21st October, that is today, the AQI is at 477.
06:05Just go back 24 hours, that is the 20th of October, it was 395.
06:11One step further, on the 19th of October, it was 236.
06:15On the 18th of October, it was 214.
06:18On the 17th of October, it was 206, which means that over the course of the last five days,
06:23you have seen the AQI jumping from 206, going all the way till 477.
06:30So, this is the kind of deterioration that we are talking about.
06:34In just the last five days, this is what you are looking at today.
06:39The AQI is at 477.
06:41Let's now also tell you, you know, let's just flip through the pages of history.
06:55Let's take a look at the last six Diwali's and what has happened.
06:59One smoky pattern, PM 2.5.
07:02Let's see what happened in 2024.
07:04When you look at 2024, you will see the AQI spiking up.
07:09We go back to 2023, this is the level that you could see in 2023.
07:17A day before Diwali, a day after Diwali.
07:19So, you can see the spike there.
07:22Let's take a look at 2021.
07:24So, all these things that you are seeing here at the moment,
07:27going all the way from this Diwali to the last six Diwali's.
07:30You see what happens exactly a day after Diwali.
07:34And this Diwali, the Supreme Court in fact had given out a window.
07:37But we all know how rules were being flouted.
07:40And that's the reason why you are seeing this.
07:42The past six Diwali's, there has been one smoky pattern before and after Diwali.
07:48The spike is so much clearer.
07:50You can see the AQI, a day before Diwali, almost 400.
07:54And a day after Diwali, almost touching 600.
07:57This is PM 2.5.
07:59Now, let me tell you, PM 2.5, these are such minute particles.
08:02They enter our system and then they settle into our lungs.
08:06So, this is something that experts have been pointing towards.
08:09My colleague Amit Bharadwaj is now joining me on the story.
08:12Amit, what we are seeing, you know, let's just take a look at the data that's coming in.
08:16Data is telling a horrific story.
08:19Unfortunately, it just takes 12 hours or so for the AQI to move into the Hazardous category.
08:24And you cannot escape it.
08:26The entire Delhi NCR region, almost in the severe category at the moment.
08:30Aishwarya, to surprise of many of our viewers, you know, the October data itself is a telling story.
08:42In the beginning of October, you had days where the AQI, CPCB Central data would reflect green patterns,
08:50which is, you know, very good air quality.
08:53To it, transitioning towards the yellow shade and eventually, as we speak, in the reddish shade.
09:00So, that itself is a reflection of the kind of menace that we are facing today and the challenge that we are up to.
09:09Having said that, we also need to understand that the climatic conditions in the national capital have started to change in October itself.
09:17So, the experts were already worrisome about the fact that these climatic conditions would mean,
09:24while the rest of several parts of northern India could enjoy winters,
09:29the areas which are pollution hotspots are going to have difficult winter this time around.
09:34Because of the climatic conditions, this would already lead to spike in, you know, pollution.
09:40Air quality will plummet.
09:43And we saw in the past week as to how the data that he was speaking about as well,
09:48that a lot of contribution to it has been because of the climatic conditions in and around northern India as well.
09:56And with that, you have the restrictions on the blanket ban on the firecrackers being lifted,
10:04green crackers being allowed for a certain window.
10:07But we know how it works, you know, when you had a blanket ban on firecrackers in the national capital,
10:14even then, you would have fireworks.
10:16Now, if you lift that restriction, ease of those restrictions, what is going to happen,
10:21we witnessed last night.
10:22Many of the people were taking on to social media platforms,
10:26saying the kind of difficulty they had in breathing, you know, burning sensation in their eyes,
10:31or irritation on their skin, and especially those who had respiratory problems,
10:37even with the fact that they had, you know, air purifiers at their homes,
10:42they were facing difficulties.
10:44Now, understand those who cannot afford to buy air purifiers,
10:50how it would have been for them, the kind of experience,
10:54horrific experience it would have been for them,
10:56and the economically lower strata people.
10:59So, there comes a bigger question, you know,
11:02do they do not have the right to breathe in clean air?
11:06And here comes a bigger question for the authorities,
11:09and also the residents of the national capital,
11:12you know, when you realize that with past experience as well,
11:15as well as the climatic conditions not being in your favor,
11:19whether self-restraint was required as well or not.
11:22Back to you.
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