New Delhi

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said that air pollution in Delhi-NCR is primarily driven by particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10, with vehicular emissions, industrial activity, construction dust and adverse meteorological conditions playing a major role.

In an interview, Yadav said PM2.5 pollution increases due to higher carbon emissions, as fine particles containing ozone, lead, carbon and sulphur enter the atmosphere from vehicles, industries and other human activities.

“PM10 involves dust and larger particles. When these mix and meteorological conditions worsen, the situation becomes more serious. When wind speed drops and emissions continue, pollutants settle in the air,” he said.

The minister emphasised the importance of traffic management, noting that congestion significantly contributes to pollution levels. He said around 60 locations in Delhi face severe traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours between 8 am and 10 am and 4 pm and 7 pm.

“When thousands of vehicles remain idling in long queues during peak hours, pollution from vehicular emissions increases sharply,” Yadav said.

He noted that air quality has shown improvement on several days, but adverse weather conditions during December continue to pose challenges. Western Disturbances occasionally bring rainfall that helps improve air quality, but when these systems pass without rain, reduced wind speeds cause PM2.5 and PM10 to remain suspended, leading to deterioration, he added.

In view of the worsening air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked all measures under Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR. The restrictions include a ban on non-essential construction activities, curbs on certain diesel vehicles and intensified enforcement.

The government has also stepped up enforcement against vehicular emissions. More than one lakh Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC) were issued in the past four days, while multi-agency checks led to over 12,000 challans in three days and inspections of more than 16,000 vehicles.

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Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) imposed fines totalling Rs 54.98 lakh in December for violations such as biomass burning and illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste. Of this, Rs 43.26 lakh was imposed through 7,023 challans related to illegal dumping, while Rs 11.72 lakh was collected from 420 violators for burning biomass and garbage.