Delhi's air turns 'very poor' again
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the "very poor" category on Saturday, and is predicted to worsen further due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, according to weather monitoring agencies.
The city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 301 at 12 noon, worsening from 261 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
The AQI was 286 in neighbouring Ghaziabad, 268 in Faridabad, 248 in Gurugram, 284 in Noida, and 349 in Greater Noida.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
According to the Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the city's air quality deteriorated to the 'very poor' category due to slow wind speed at night and a dip in temperatures.
The air quality is expected to remain very poor till the end of the month, it said.
Unfavourable meteorological conditions and a cocktail of emissions from firecrackers and paddy straw burning, in addition to local sources of pollution, push Delhi-NCR's air quality to hazardous levels during winter.
According to an analysis conducted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the capital experiences peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana peak.
While Delhi is facing a sharp decline in air quality in the coming days, crucial data that helped the government prepare a strategy to mitigate the air pollution problem is missing.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences' System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, which provided data about the contribution of smoke from farm fires to Delhi's air pollution, has not been providing updates, and associated officials are unaware of the reason.
"We are not aware of why updates on the SAFAR portal have stopped," said an official at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which operates the website. Similarly, data from the Decision Support System, a numerical model-based framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi, isn't accessible to the general public anymore.
Recently, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the city government's study to determine pollution sources in the national capital has been halted "unilaterally and arbitrarily" on the orders of DPCC Chairman Ashwani Kumar.
The Delhi government had last month launched a 15-point action plan to mitigate air pollution in the capital during the winter season, with a strong emphasis on addressing dust pollution, vehicular emissions, and the open burning of garbage.
Special drives to check dust, vehicular and industrial pollution are already underway in the city.
In keeping with the practice of the last three years, Delhi had last month announced a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, storage, sale, and use of firecrackers within the city.
A public awareness campaign, 'Patakhe Nahi Diye Jalao,' will soon be reintroduced to discourage firecracker burning.
The government has also prepared a pollution mitigation plan for each of the 13 identified pollution hotspots -- Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Dwarka.
Rai recently said the government has identified eight more pollution hotspots in addition to the existing 13 in the national capital and special teams will be deployed there to check pollution sources.
He said the government has also decided to use suppressant powder to prevent dust pollution in the city.
Dust suppressants could include chemical agents like calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, lignosulfonates and various polymers. These chemicals work by attracting and binding fine dust particles together, making them too heavy to become airborne.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
