Six new Delhi air-quality stations set for CPCB integration within a week

Six new air-quality monitoring stations in Delhi are expected to join the Central Pollution Control Board’s network within a week, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

The stations are at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, the ISRO Earth Station near Malcha Mahal in the Central Ridge, Delhi Cantonment, Commonwealth Sports Complex and Netaji Subhash University of Technology’s West Campus.

Delhi’s AQI is currently calculated using data from 40 stations. Once the new continuous ambient air-quality monitoring stations are integrated, the network will have 46 stations, which Sirsa described as the highest number in India.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has already made the six stations operational and displays their readings on its portal. Officials said they are closely monitoring their performance before full integration with the CPCB system.

The expanded network will track PM2.5, PM10 and other pollutants, while also providing more localised readings for pollution-control measures. The stations may also support studies of pollution’s effects on flora and fauna in different parts of the capital.

The government is also planning 14 more monitoring stations and has begun the ‘Vayu Rakshak’ enforcement drive with 100 personnel.