Call for Heatwave Preparedness at Religious Institutions & Delhi Metro Stations

Delhi’s summers are becoming more intense each year due to climate change, El Niño patterns, and the Urban Heat Island effect. 

If Rapid Rail can provide free cold drinking water at its stations, why can’t @OfficialDMRC ensure hydration support during extreme heat emergencies?

Delhi Metro records over 81 lakh daily commuters. How are they expected to endure extreme heat, driven by climate change, El Niño, and the urban heat island effect, without even basic access to free drinking water?

RWAs and MTAs, in collaboration with local gurudwaras, temples, mosques, and churches, must ensure hydration support to save lives.

Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and Market Trader Associations (MTAs), working closely with local gurudwaras, temples, mosques, and churches, can play a vital role in safeguarding communities during extreme heat. 

By setting up accessible hydration points, distributing clean drinking water, and offering shaded rest areas, they can prevent dehydration and heat-related illnesses. 

Volunteers from these institutions can coordinate outreach, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, daily wage workers, and the homeless. 

Timely action, shared responsibility, and community spirit can turn these local networks into life-saving support systems, ensuring no one suffers due to lack of water during critical conditions.

B S Vohra, Civic & Environment Activist. President, East Delhi RWAs Joint Front

Delhi: A City of Extremes - Trapped Between Heat, Smog, and Floods

Delhi is often described as a city of extremes, where each season doesn’t just change the weather, but reshapes the rhythm of everyday life in increasingly intense ways, especially as rising temperatures become a defining feature of the city’s climate reality.

In the summer months, already soaring temperatures are now climbing even higher year after year, intensifying the urban heat island effect. The city’s vast concrete landscape acts like a heat trap: roads, buildings, and dense construction absorb solar energy throughout the day and release it slowly long after sunset. As a result, nights fail to offer real relief, and heat lingers deep into the evening. With shrinking green cover in many areas and groundwater depletion altering local humidity and cooling patterns, rising temperatures don’t just feel uncomfortable, they increasingly push the limits of livability during peak heatwaves.

Winter brings a different kind of pressure. Cold air settles over the Indo-Gangetic plain and stagnates, trapping pollutants close to the ground. Emissions from vehicles, industry, construction dust, and seasonal crop residue burning accumulate in this still air, forming dense smog episodes. Visibility drops, air quality deteriorates rapidly, and daily life, especially outdoors, becomes difficult for large sections of the population.

The monsoon, while welcomed as relief, often exposes the fragility of urban systems. Intense rainfall can overwhelm drainage networks, particularly in rapidly expanded or poorly maintained areas. Encroachment on natural drainage channels and unplanned construction reduce the city’s ability to absorb heavy downpours, leading to widespread waterlogging that disrupts transport and routine life.

Taken together, these seasonal pressures, now amplified by rising temperatures, create a cycle where environmental stress is constant and comfort is increasingly temporary. What once felt like predictable seasonal shifts is gradually becoming more extreme and less forgiving.

Yet the city is not static. Expanding green initiatives, gradual improvements in public transport, and ongoing efforts to modernize drainage systems point toward a more resilient future. But the scale of change needed is significant, because rising temperatures are not just a seasonal concern anymore, they are reshaping the baseline of daily life.

Delhi remains a city defined by contrasts: heritage and modernity, opportunity and strain, growth and constraint. But increasingly, it also stands as a place where human ambition and a warming climate are locked in a more urgent, visible negotiation than ever before.

B S Vohra, Civic & Environment Activist, President, East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation.

Clarification on Discrepancies in AQI Readings Across Platforms

Subject: Request for Clarification on Discrepancies in AQI Readings Across Platforms

To

The Chairperson

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

Subject: Public confusion regarding discrepancies in AQI readings across platforms

Respected Sir/Madam,

I am writing to draw your attention to a growing concern among the public regarding the noticeable discrepancies in Air Quality Index (AQI) readings displayed by the SAMEER App and various private air quality monitoring applications.

It has been frequently observed that at the same point in time, the SAMEER App may show an AQI reading of around 264 (indicating poor air quality), while several private applications report significantly lower values, such as 94 (indicating moderate air quality), and at times even the reverse. Such wide variations understandably lead to confusion and concern

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among citizens trying to make informed decisions about their health and daily activities.

While it is understood that differences may arise due to varying methodologies, data sources, monitoring station coverage, averaging techniques, and calculation standards, the lack of clear communication on these differences is contributing to public uncertainty and mistrust.

In light of this, it is requested that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) take the initiative to:

*Clearly explain the reasons behind these discrepancies in AQI readings

*Publish simplified guidelines on how AQI is calculated across different platforms

*Clarify which sources or standards should be considered most reliable for public health decisions

*Enhance public awareness through official communication channels

A transparent and accessible explanation from CAQM would go a long way in building public confidence and ensuring that citizens can interpret air quality data correctly and responsibly.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to your response and to greater clarity for the general public.

Yours sincerely,

B S Vohra, Environment & Civic Activist, President, East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation