Ecology
Main article: Environment of Delhi
Delhi is located at 28.61°N 77.23°E, and lies in Northern India. It borders the Indian states of Haryana on the north, west and south and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to the east. During the British Raj, Delhi was part of the province of Punjab and is still historically and culturally connected to the Punjab region.[50] Two prominent features of the geography of Delhi are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna river was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The Hindon River separates Ghaziabad from the eastern part of Delhi. The Delhi ridge originates from the Aravalli Range in the south and encircles the west, north-east and north-west parts of the city. It reaches a height of 318 m (1,043 ft) and is a dominant feature of the region.[51]
The National Capital Territory of Delhi covers an area of 1,484 km2 (573 sq mi), of which 783 km2 (302 sq mi) is designated rural, and 700 km2(270 sq mi) urban therefore making it the largest city in terms of area in the country. It has a length of 51.9 km (32 mi) and a width of 48.48 km (30 mi).
Delhi is included in India's seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major earthquakes, but earthquakes have not been common in recent history.[52]
Climate
See also: Climate of Delhi
Delhi features an atypical version of thehumid subtropical climate (KöppenCwa). The warm season lasts from 9 April to 8 July with an average daily high temperature above 36 °C (97 °F). The hottest day of the year is 22 May, with an average high of 38 °C (100 °F) and low of 25 °C (77 °F).[53] The cold season lasts from 11 December to 11 February with an average daily high temperature below 18 °C (64 °F). The coldest day of the year is 4 January, with an average low of 2 °C (36 °F) and high of 15 °C (59 °F).[53] In early March, the wind direction changes from north-westerly to south-westerly. From April to October the weather is hot. The monsoon arrives at the end of June, along with an increase in humidity.[54] The brief, mild winter starts in late November, peaks in January and heavy fog often occurs.[55]
Temperatures in Delhi usually range from 5 to 40 °C (41.0 to 104.0 °F), with the lowest and highest temperatures ever recorded being −6.7 and 47.8 °C (19.9 and 118.0 °F) respectively.[56] The annual mean temperature is 25 °C (77 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 13 to 32 °C (55 to 90 °F). The highest temperature recorded in July was 45 °C (113 °F) in 1931.[57][58] The average annual rainfall is approximately 714 mm (28.1 in), most of which falls during the monsoon in July and August.[7] The average date of the advent of monsoon winds in Delhi is 29 June.[59]
More information: Climate data for Delhi (Safdarjung) 1971–1990, Month ...
Air pollution
See also: Environmental issues in Delhi
Urban sustainability analysis of the greater urban area of the city using the 'Circles of Sustainability' method of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme
Delhi is the most polluted[62] city in the world and according to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people in Delhi every year.[63][64][65] During 2013-14, peak levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in Delhi increased by about 44%, primarily due to high vehicular and industrial emissions, construction work and crop burning in adjoining states.[63][66][67][68]Delhi has the highest level of the airborne particulate matter, PM2.5considered most harmful to health, with 153 micrograms.[69] Rising air pollution level has significantly increased lung-related ailments (especially asthma and lung cancer) among Delhi's children and women.[70][71] The dense smog in Delhi during winter season results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year.[72]According to Indian meteorologists, the average maximum temperature in Delhi during winters has declined notably since 1998 due to rising air pollution.[73]
Dense smog blankets Connaught Place, Delhi.
Environmentalists have criticised the Delhi government for not doing enough to curb air pollution and to inform people about air quality issues.[64] Most of Delhi's residents are unaware of alarming levels of air pollution in the city and the health risks associated with it;[67][68] however, as of 2015, awareness, particularly among the foreign diplomatic community and high-income Indians, was noticeably increasing.[74]Since the mid-1990s, Delhi has undertaken some measures to curb air pollution – Delhi has the third highest quantity of trees among Indian cities[75]and the Delhi Transport Corporationoperates the world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.[76] In 1996, theCentre for Science and Environment(CSE) started a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India that ordered the conversion of Delhi's fleet of buses and taxis to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and banned the use ofleaded petrol in 1998. In 2003, Delhi won the United States Department of Energy's first 'Clean Cities International Partner of the Year' award for its "bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives".[76] The Delhi Metro has also been credited for significantly reducing air pollutants in the city.[77]
However, according several authors, most of these gains have been lost, especially due to stubble burning, a rise in the market share of diesel cars and a considerable decline in bus ridership.[78][79] According to CSE and System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), burning of agricultural waste in nearby Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regions results in severe intensification of smog over Delhi.[80][81] The state government of Uttar Pradesh is considering imposing a ban on crop burning to reduce pollution in Delhi NCR and an environmental panel has appealed to India's Supreme Court to impose a 30% cess on diesel cars.[82][83]
The Circles of Sustainability assessment of Delhi gives a marginally more favourable impression of the ecological sustainability of the city only because it is based on a more comprehensive series of measures than only air pollution. Part of the reason that the city remains assessed at basic sustainability is because of the low resource-use andcarbon emissions of its poorer neighbourhoods.[84]
Civic administration
Map showing the nine districts of Delhi
See also: Divisions of Delhi, Districts of Delhi and List of towns in National Capital Territory of Delhi
As of July 2007, the National Capital Territory of Delhi comprises nine districts, 27 tehsils, 59 census towns, 300 villages,[85] and three statutory towns, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) – 1,397.3 km2 or 540 sq mi, the New Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) – 42.7 km2 or 16 sq mi and theDelhi Cantonment Board (DCB) – 43 km2or 17 sq mi).[86][87] On 16 July 2012, the Delhi Government decided to increase the number of districts from nine to 11.[88]
The Delhi metropolitan area lies within the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), which has five local municipal corporations; North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi Municipal Corporation, NDMC and DCB. The former MCD was divided into three smaller Municipal Corporations – North Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi.[89]According to the 2011 census, MCD is among the largest municipal bodies in the world, providing civic services to about 11 million people.[90]
Delhi (civic administration) was ranked 5th out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.6 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.[91]
Delhi houses the Supreme Court of India, and the regional Delhi High Court, along with the Small Causes Court for civil cases; the Magistrate Court and theSessions Court for criminal cases, has jurisdiction over Delhi. The city is administratively divided into elevenpolice-zones, which are subdivided into 95 local police stations.[92]
Government and politics
Supreme court is the apex court in the country.
Main article: Government of Delhi
The National Capital Territory of Delhi has its own Legislative Assembly,Lieutenant Governor, council of ministers and Chief Minister. Members of the legislative assembly are directly elected from territorial constituencies in the NCT. The legislative assembly was abolished in 1956, after which direct federal control was implemented until it was re-established in 1993. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) handles civic administration for the city as part of the Panchayati Raj Act. TheGovernment of India and theGovernment of National Capital Territory of Delhi jointly administer New Delhi, where both bodies are located. TheParliament of India, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), Cabinet Secretariat and the Supreme Court of India are located in the municipal district of New Delhi. There are 70 assembly constituencies and seven Lok Sabha(Indian parliament's lower house) constituencies in Delhi.[93][94]
The Indian National Congress(Congress) formed all the governments in Delhi until the 1990s, when theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led byMadan Lal Khurana, came to power.[95]In 1998, the Congress returned to power under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit, who was subsequently re-elected for 3 consecutive terms. But in 2013, the Congress was ousted from power, with the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal forming the government with outside support from the Congress.[96] However, that government was short-lived, collapsing only after 49 days.[97] Delhi was then under President's rule till February, 2015.[98] On February 10, 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party returned to power after a landslide victory, winning 67 out of the 70 seats in Delhi Legislative Assembly.[99]
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