Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sharply criticised Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over her statement equating AQI with temperature, questioning, “When did this new science come?”
Kejriwal alleged that the current Chief Minister had effectively admitted that authorities were spraying water directly at air quality monitoring stations to artificially lower the readings and conceal the true extent of pollution from Delhiites.
“First point - The Chief Minister has at least accepted that wherever AQI monitors are installed, water spraying is being done there so that the truth about pollution doesn't reach the people of Delhi. In other words, a game is underway to hide the data and show ‘clean air’,” Kejriwal posted on X.
In a separate point, he directly challenged the scientific basis of Gupta’s remark, asking: “Second point - When did this new science come about that AQI has now become temperature?”
The BJP-led Delhi government has faced severe backlash over its pollution-control measures after multiple videos circulating on social media purportedly showed water being sprayed in close proximity to AQI monitoring stations, allegedly to manipulate and suppress the recorded pollution levels.
Despite these efforts, Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday, with the Air Quality Index persistently above 300. Meteorological forecasts indicate that pollution levels are expected to worsen further, potentially entering the ‘very poor to severe’ category in the days ahead.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 314 as of 4 pm, marking a slight deterioration from 308 recorded at the same time on Sunday.
Also Read: Delhi AQI at 305: Still 'very poor' despite slight improvement
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