New Delhi, Jan 20: Delhi continued to grapple with its air pollution crisis on Tuesday morning with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 397 at 7 am, placing the national capital’s air in the ‘very poor’ category.

According to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), while there was a marginal improvement compared to Monday morning, when the AQI was in the ‘severe’ category at 418.

Several areas in Delhi reported alarmingly high AQI levels. Anand Vihar and Ashok Vihar both recorded AQI readings of 444, while Wazirpur registered 446. Other pollution hotspots included Punjabi Bagh (437), RK Puram (421), Bawana (418), ITO (414), Chandni Chowk (412) and Dwarka Sector 8 (412). All these locations fell in the ‘severe’ category, indicating extremely poor air quality and heightened health risks.

As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

Adding to the deteriorating conditions, visibility across the city remained poor due to ongoing cold wave conditions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported dense fog in the morning hours, with moderate fog at several locations and dense fog at isolated spots. The temperature around 7 am was recorded at approximately 8.2 degrees Celsius.

With severe pollution, cold wave and dense fog persisting, authorities have urged citizens to limit outdoor activities, follow health advisories, and take precautions against the hazardous air quality.
Meanwhile, rehearsals for the 77th Republic Day parade are currently underway at Kartavya Path.
Furthermore, in response to the deteriorating air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday reinvoked Stage-IV measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas has recorded “serious deficiencies” in the implementation of measures prescribed under Stage-III and Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan, following a detailed review of performance reports submitted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) in the NCR.

According to the Commission, the GRAP Monitoring Control Room, set up to oversee daily compliance, has been continuously tracking actions taken by concerned agencies to curb air pollution. The review of implementation during the two most stringent stages of GRAP revealed wide gaps and persistent non-compliance across multiple parameters, with shortfalls ranging from 7 per cent to as high as 99.6 per cent in several mandated actions.

New Delhi, Jan 19: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Monday and the two leaders discussed various issues related to Jammu and Kashmir.

No details of the meeting were available.

The meeting comes amid growing tensions between the elected government of J&K and the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration.

The Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) are also yet to be settled between the elected government and the LG’s administration.

“Chief Minister today met Union Home Minister @AmitShah in New Delhi to discuss various matters concerning Jammu and Kashmir,” CM’s Office said in a post on microblogging site X. The meeting also comes in the backdrop of reports of Kashmiri shawl sellers being roughed up in various parts of the country.

The budget session of the J&K Assembly is scheduled to begin in February and the Union Home Ministry is the nodal ministry for the allocation of funds for the union territories. In the past, CM Omar has said that while the central government has been “well disposed” in terms of funding and extending capital expenditure schemes, the relationship with the LG’s Office has been antagonistic.

CM Omar has publicly alleged that the LG appointed an IAS officer to a post reserved for JK Administrative Services (JKAS) to deny the elected government control over the Information Department.

He has been vocal about the “disempowerment” of the office of the J&K Chief Minister, saying that he has had the “unique misfortune” of transitioning from leading one of the country’s most empowered states to a union territory with “far less power than any other state CM”.

In his past interactions with the media, CM Omar has listed what he termed as administrative “strangulation” by the LG’s Office, alleging interference in departments that have nothing to do with security or law and order.

New Delhi, Jan 19: The United Nations chief has accused the United States of acting with impunity and placing power above international law, warning that the founding principles of multilateralism are under strain, the BBC reported.

In remarks to BBC Radio, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Washington appeared convinced that multilateral solutions were irrelevant and that the exercise of US power and influence often took precedence over international legal norms.

He said this approach threatened the UN Charter’s core principles, including the equality of member states.

Guterres, in the interview, acknowledged that the UN was struggling to ensure compliance with international law, noting that major powers wield greater leverage and often use it to pursue narrow interests rather than lasting solutions.

He also called for urgent reform of the UN, particularly the Security Council, which he said no longer reflects global realities and has become ineffective due to frequent use of veto powers. The comments came amid growing global tensions, including conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and debates over the future of multilateralism.

Guterres, whose term ends later this year, reiterated that confronting powerful states was essential to upholding the rule of law and creating a more stable international order.