New Delhi:

Toxic air in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, Noida, and Ghaziabad is the result of Pakistan burning stubble, or agricultural waste, a state pollution board official declared this week.

DK Gupta, a Regional Officer with the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board in Greater Noida, blamed the neighbouring country – which is over 500 km from Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad, at its nearest point to the border – for the blanket of polluted air smothering Delhi and the national capital region every winter, fed in significant part by farm fires from UP, Haryana, and Punjab.

“This is the first time this year that all three cities of Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad saw ‘very poor’ air quality on the same day. And our neighbouring country… Pakistan… needs to be blamed,” he was quoted by The Times of India, “Increasing instances of stubble burning has sent toxic smoke across the border.”

Mr Gupta’s remark came after the AQI in the three cities dropped to ‘very poor’ levels Sunday; Noida recorded an AQI of 304 (on a scale of 500), a deeply worrying spike from 169 a day earlier.

Ghaziabad reported a similarly worrying AQI – 324 – and Greater Noida 312.

The AQI in Delhi was even worse – an average of 352 was recorded Sunday, with the Anand Vihar area reporting a reading of 405 as a layer of acrid and lung-burning smog covered the city.

This morning the AQI in Noida, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad dropped to 267, 248, and 252, with Delhi reporting an overall reading of 328 and ‘very poor’ air quality levels.

The lack of winds had compounded the problem – there was, literally, no breeze in parts of the city Sunday, according to the India Meteorological Department – trapping pollutants in the air.

Concerns over air quality – and the consequent spike in respiratory illnesses – have become a perennial problem for Delhi and neighbouring regions; the Supreme Court last week grilled the central, Punjab, and Haryana governments over non-compliance of anti-pollution laws.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice A Amanullah, and Justice AG Masih, dismissed as “mere eyewash” the Punjab and Haryana governments’ efforts to stamp out farm fires contributing to the toxic air covering Delhi.

READ | “Eyewash”: Supreme Court Raps Punjab, Haryana Over Stubble Burning

The top court also rapped the union government over “toothless” environmental protection laws, observing that laws meant to control pollution, specifically the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act of 2021 had been passed sans the administrative machinery to ensure implementation.

Air quality levels will likely drop even further this week as the northern states celebrate Diwali by bursting firecrackers in violation of bans or restrictions imposed by several, including Delhi.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board indicates AQIs have nosedived in and around Delhi on the day after Diwali in seven of the last eight years. The exception was last year after some respite due to rains. Even then, though, the AQI early post-Diwali morning was over 300 or ‘very poor’.

Meanwhile, the AQI in Lahore – last year the city with the fifth-most polluted air in the world – crossed a horrific 700 this morning, according to Pak newspaper Dawn. In Pakistan, as in India, the burning of farm waste, or stubble, is a serious problem that leads to polluted and unhealthy air.

With input from agencies

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