NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said that the Centre and state government need to act immediately to tackle the pollution crisis in Delhi regardless of “political compulsions.“In a social media post on X, Priyanka urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, environment minister Bhupender Yadav and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta to intervene and take immediate steps for clearing the “filthy smog” people are breathing.

“Returning to the Delhi air from Wayanad first, then Bachwara in Bihar is truly shocking. The pollution enveloping this city is like a grey shroud thrown over it,” Priyanka said.“It’s really about time all of us get together regardless of our political compulsions and do something about it. The central and state government need to act immediately, we will all support and cooperate with whatever actions they choose to take to mitigate this awful situation. Year after year the citizens of Delhi are subjected to this toxicity with no recourse,” she added.“Those who suffer from respiratory issues, children who commute to school every day and senior citizens especially, need urgent intervention to clear the filthy smog we are all breathing. Rekha Gupta, Bhupendra Yadav, Narendra Modi, please take immediate steps,” she further said.This comes as Delhi’s air quality remained ‘very poor’ on Sunday as slow wind speed reduced dispersion of pollutants over the city, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).The national capital’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 386 in the morning, a considerable rise from 303 on Saturday, CPCB data showed.The Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi said wind speed dropped below 8 kmph from the northwest direction during the evening and night, reducing the dispersion of pollutants.Seventeen monitoring stations recorded ‘severe’ air quality with readings above 400. Wazirpur recorded the highest AQI at 439. Twenty other stations reported ‘very poor’ air quality with readings above 300, the CPCB’s Sameer app showed.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’.