Dense fog blankets Delhi, AQI stays in 'very poor' category
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi woke up shrouded in fog on Wednesday morning, with little visibility and 'very poor' air.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for dense fog between 8.30 am and 10 am.
Visibility was recorded at 50 metres at both Palam and Safdarjung at 6.30 am, the weather office said. The national capital recorded a 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 384, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A station-wise breakdown showed that 21 monitoring stations recorded 'very poor' air quality, while 16 stations were in the 'severe' category, with Anand Vihar registering the worst AQI at 452, according to data from the CPCB's SAMEER app.
According to CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 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'.
The air quality outlook remains grim, the Air Quality Early Warning System said, with the AQI likely to deteriorate to the 'severe' category on January 1, before letting up to the 'very poor' category on January 2.
For the subsequent six days, air quality is expected to remain 'very poor', it said.
Officials attributed the poor air to an unfavourable ventilation index of below 6,000 square metres per second and average wind speeds of less than 10 kmph, which are not conducive to the dispersion of pollutants.
On Tuesday, the AQI stood at 388, marking a marginal improvement from Monday, when the city recorded a 'severe' reading of 401.
On Wednesday, the IMD said the minimum temperature at Safdarjung and Ayanagar was recorded at 6.4 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees Celsius below normal. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 23 degrees Celsius. Dense fog is likely to persist through the day.
Palam station logged a minimum of 7.7 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 6.8 degrees Celsius, and the Ridge 7.8 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.
On New Year's Day, the weather office has forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain over the national capital.
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Time has come to implement Women's Reservation Act: PM Modi's letter to LS, RS floor leaders
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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the time has come for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act in its true spirit and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with the quota for women in place.
In a letter to the floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament, Modi also asked all members to come together in one voice to pass the amendments to the women's reservation law, officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
"After extensive deliberations, we have reached the conclusion that the time has now come to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in its true spirit across the country.
"It is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women's reservation in place," the Prime Minister said in his letter dated April 11.
The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened on April 16 to 18.
The Women's Reservation Act will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.
The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.
However, the women's quota would have come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not have become enforceable before 2034 if the present law remains as is.
To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding a special session to pass the amendments to the law.
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