The Ambassador of the United States to India, Eric Garcetti has said that the pollution in Delhi brings back memories of growing up in Los Angeles’ as the air was very polluted there in the past.
He said that similar to when the children were given a warning to not go outside to play in LA due to poor quality, his daughter was also given the same warning while going to school today in Delhi.
“On a day like this in Delhi, it brings back memories of growing up in Los Angeles where the air was the most polluted air anywhere in America. Where like today, we were given warnings by our teachers that you cannot go outside to play, just as my daughter was given by her teacher today as I dropped her off to school,” Garcetti said.
Garcetti’s remarks come as the national capital grapples with air pollution as the winters are approaching.
The air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the fifth consecutive day in a row, according to the latest data on Thursday.
As per the SAFAR-India, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was 343 (very poor) on Thursday morning.
The AQI in the national capital was recorded at 322 on Monday (30th October) and 327 on Tuesday (31st October), as per the data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.
In the NCR, the overall air quality in Noida was also recorded in the very poor category today, with an AQI of 397. Meanwhile, morning walkers of the national capital said that breathing is not as easy as it used to be in the summer months.
Air Quality Index (AQI) is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature, and colour.
The AQI from 0 to 100 is considered good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.
Last week, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that a 15-point winter action plan is being implemented one by one to curb pollution.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)