Air quality in Delhi-NCR has improved with the number of “poor” air quality days coming down from 300 in 2014 to 206 in 2018, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday.
Speaking at an event to mark the World Environment Day, which was on June 5, the Minister said the situation “is not as bad” as being portrayed in the media.
“Number of poor air quality days in Delhi in 2016 used to be 246, and in 2014 it used to be around 300, in 2017 it came down to 213 and now it has come down to 206 (in 2018). I am confident that when 2019 figures will come, the number of poor air quality days will further come down. This is a tremendous success. The days of poor quality air have reduced. It is a significant improvement,” he said.
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The number of “poor” air quality days has come down by 33% in 2018 as compared to 2014. He also said that the number of days with ‘moderate’ to ‘good’ air quality has increased from 108 in 2016 to 159 in 2018.
“Moderate to good days have increased. 108 days of moderate air quality in 2016 have increased to 152 in 2017 and now they have gone up to 159 days. This progress in good air days are the result of concerted efforts of last four years for the Capital and NCR,” he said, adding that air quality monitoring systems which record the air quality index (AQI) show improvement in air quality.
Calling for people’s participation, the Minister said that just wearing masks will not help and every individual has to act responsibly towards environment.
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