Delhi air quality offers slight relief post-Diwali; overall AQI drops to 299 'Poor' category

00 AM by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The air quality across the national capital witnessed some relief as Delhi recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 299, in the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday morning, according to the data recorded at 7:00 AM by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Delhi's air quality deteriorated after Diwali celebrations held on Sunday. The persistent pollution is compounded by a drop in temperatures and moderate fog.

The Delhi governemnt is taking pollution control measures to minimise the impact of the particulate matter by using water sprinklers across the State. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, air quality across multiple monitoring stations in Delhi remained critical, with all locations falling into the 'Very Poor' category. Chhawla recorded the highest Air Quality Index (AQI) at 396, followed by Chandni Chowk at 379, DTU at 375, IIT Delhi at 375, North Campus at 374, ITO at 367, Burari Crossing at 362, Pusa at 359, NIH Narela at 352, NSUT Jaffarpur at 351, NSIT Dwarka at 350, CRRI Mathura Road at 348, Punjabi Bagh at 341, JNU at 339, Aya Nagar at 337, Talkatora Garden at 331, Vivek Vihar at 326, Sirifort at 321, Wazirpur at 321, Jahangirpuri at 320, Burari at 315, Badarpur at 312, Mundka at 305, Anand Vihar at 304, Bawana at 304, and R K Puram at 300.

Meanwhile, air quality across several other locations in the capital remained in the 'Poor' category. Rohini recorded an AQI of 298, followed by Ashok Vihar at 298, Dwarka-Sector 8 at 295, Jharoda Kalan at 289, IGNOU Maidan Garhi at 287, IGI Airport (T3) at 282, Alipur at 279, and Uttam Nagar at 259. IMD Lodhi Road registered the lowest reading in this bracket at 203, remaining within the 'Poor' threshold. Greater Noida and Noida recorded an AQI of 240 and 278, both falling under the 'poor' category.

Gurugram also recorded an AQI in the 'poor' category at 292. A day earlier, the national capital recorded an AQI of 307 at 7 am on Tuesday, falling in the 'very poor' category. On Monday, the national capital woke up to a thick blanket of smog as air quality deteriorated to the 'severe' category at several monitoring stations, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing 400 in multiple areas.

The Delhi governemnt is taking pollution control measures to minimise the impact of particulate matter by using water sprinklers across the State. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi registered a morning temperature of 20.0°C with sunny conditions.

According to CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. (ANI)