Delhi's air quality severe; slight relief likely ahead of Diwali
New Delhi (PTI): The air quality in Delhi was recorded in the 'severe' category on Thursday morning, with a marginal improvement expected just ahead of Diwali as meteorological conditions are likely to become slightly favourable.
The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 420 at 8 am on Thursday, compared to 426 at 4 pm on Wednesday. The AQI map prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board showed clusters of red dots (indicating hazardous air quality) spread across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Neighbouring Ghaziabad (369), Gurugram (396), Noida (394), Greater Noida (450), and Faridabad (413) also reported very bad air quality.
According to officials at the India Meteorological Department, a change in wind direction from northwest to southeast due to a fresh western disturbance affecting northwest India will help reduce the contribution of smoke from stubble burning, but slow wind speed will counteract this.
However, once the western disturbance passes, the wind speed will increase from around 5-6 kmph, at present, to around 15 kmph on November 11, which will help disperse pollutants ahead of Diwali, the official said.
According to data from the Decision Support System, a numerical model-based framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi, stubble burning in neighbouring states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, accounted for 38 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi on Wednesday. It is likely to be 27 per cent on Thursday and 12 per cent on Friday.
The data also shows that transport is another major factor, contributing 12 to 14 per cent to Delhi's foul air.
In view of the worsening air pollution, the Delhi government on Wednesday rescheduled the December winter break of all schools, which will now be from November 9 to November 18.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the entry of app-based taxis into Delhi has been banned according to orders of the Supreme Court.
He also said the odd-even car rationing scheme will be implemented in the national capital after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order. The matter will be next heard on Friday.
On Tuesday, the apex court questioned the effectiveness of the Delhi government's car rationing scheme, aimed at curbing vehicular pollution, and referred to it as "all optics".
Anticipating further deterioration of air quality post-Diwali, Rai had on Monday announced that the flagship scheme, which permits cars to operate on alternate days based on the odd or even last digit of their registration numbers, would be enforced between November 13 and November 20.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR, the region is likely to experience "very poor" to "severe" air quality for another five to six days.
Doctors say breathing in the polluted air of Delhi is equivalent to the harmful effects of smoking approximately 10 cigarettes a day.
Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dramatically raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, said Rajesh Chawla, senior consultant in pulmonology and critical care at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.
Stringent restrictions mandated under the final stage of the central government's air pollution control plan for Delhi-NCR, Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), have also been implemented in the national capital.
The restrictions under Stage IV of GRAP, including a ban on all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi, took effect on Sunday after the air quality in the city dropped to 'severe plus' (AQI above 450) levels.
GRAP categorises actions into four stages: Stage I - Poor (AQI 201-300); Stage II - Very Poor (AQI 301-400); Stage III - Severe (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - Severe Plus (AQI above 450).
Unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy straw burning, firecrackers and other local pollution sources contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during the winter every year.
According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee analysis, the capital experiences peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when the number of stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana increases.
The air quality in Delhi-NCR declined over the last two weeks due to a gradual drop in temperatures, calm winds that trap pollution and a surge in paddy straw burning across Punjab and Haryana.
Delhi's air quality ranks among the worst in the world's capital cities.
A report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) in August said that air pollution is shortening lives by almost 12 years in Delhi.
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Indian students being put off applying to UK universities, report finds
London (PTI): Indian students are being put off applying to UK universities, adding to their financial woes at a time when education institutions are already coping with constrained budgets, a new report into the stability of the higher education sector in England has revealed.
Based on UK Home Office data on confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) by UK providers from 2022-23 to 2023-24, an Office for Students (OfS) analysis released on Friday shows a 20.4 per cent drop in Indian student numbers – down from 139,914 to 111,329.
Indian student groups in the UK said the fall was to be expected amid limited job prospects and also safety concerns following recent anti-immigration riots in some cities.
“There has been a considerable decline in student visa applications from prospective non-UK students in some major source countries,” notes the report by OfS, a non-departmental public body of the government’s Department for Education.
“This data shows an 11.8 per cent decline in the total number of sponsor acceptances issued to international students, as well as considerable variation for students with different nationalities, with the largest declines reported in the number of CAS issued to Indian and Nigerian students, down 28,585 (20.4 per cent) and 25,897 (44.6 per cent) respectively,” it said.
It warns that universities with financial models that depend heavily on students from countries such as India, Nigeria and Bangladesh are likely to be significantly affected due to this downward trend.
“The number of international students from certain countries that send significant numbers to study in the UK has decreased significantly,” OfS cautions.
“By 2025-26, based on current trends and not taking into account significant mitigating action, we estimate a net income reduction for the sector of GBP 3,445 million, and, without significant mitigating actions, a sector-level deficit of minus GBP 1,636 million, with up to 72 per cent of providers being in deficit, and 40 per cent having low liquidity,” it adds.
The Indian National Students’ Association (INSA) UK said it was not surprised with the significant decrease in students from India given the government’s clampdown on foreign students being allowed to bring along their dependent partners and spouses.
“Students are not allowed to bring their partners to the UK under the new policy and given the economic conditions here and recent rioting stories, unless the government addresses this issue the outlook for UK universities is bleak as they rely heavily on Indian students,” said INSA UK President Amit Tiwari.
Indians overtook the Chinese in recent years as the leading nationality granted study visas to the UK and are the largest cohort to access the Graduate Route post-study work visa, which was thrown into disarray due to a review which has since concluded it is here to stay.
“Many reasons contribute to the decline in numbers, including the Conservative ban on dependents, confusion around post-study work visa, increase in skilled worker salary thresholds and an apparent lack of jobs in the UK,” said Sanam Arora, chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.
“We discovered the scale of misinformation that continues to persist; for the first time, safety is also being raised as a concern… Universities need to ensure that they are communicating the UK offer adequately and at scale in India to address the confusions that persist," she said.
"Universities also need to invest significantly in their employability support in order to stay competitive and provide a wholesome, outcome-oriented offer for students,” she added.
