Gopal Rai writes another letter to Union environment min over emergency meet on stubble burning

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday wrote another letter to his Union counterpart, Bhupender Yadav, calling for an emergency meeting with all NCR states to discuss the issue of stubble burning.

There has been no response so far to Rai's first letter dated November 7 in this regard. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality forecast agency SAFAR, stubble burning has accounted for at least 25 percent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution for eight days on the trot, starting November 4.

The share of farm fires in Delhi's pollution rose to 48 percent on Sunday, the highest since November 5, 2018, when it was recorded at 58 percent.

“The Centre's intervention is urgently required at this stage to stop the uncontrolled and unabated stubble burning in neighboring states, which is heavily impacting the ambient air quality of Delhi,” Rai wrote in the latest letter.

“There is an accumulation of pollutants in the air shed. The situation has got worse with stubble burning recorded in neighboring NCR states since last week,” the letter read.

Transboundary movement of pollutants from stubble burning has been huge since the start of November, the Delhi minister rued. “Hence, it is reiterated that an emergency meeting may be convened with environment ministers of all neighboring states of Delhi to discuss the issue of stubble burning and control air pollution in the region,” he said.

A thick layer of smog shrouded Delhi-NCR on Thursday and partially blotted out the sun on Chhath Puja as the air quality slipped back into the severe zone (AQI 411), with unfavorable meteorological conditions aiding the accumulation of pollutants, authorities said.

According to SAFAR, 3,914 farm fires accounted for 26 percent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution on Thursday.

Green think tank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the ongoing smog episode is a public health emergency. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)