Delhi air quality dips to ‘very poor’, likely to worsen in coming days

A day after firecrackers were burst to celebrate Dussehra, the air quality in national capital Delhi dropped to “very poor” category on Saturday night. A haze engulfed the city as the level of hazardous pollutants in the air shot up.

According to the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 324, the highest of the season. The sharp increase in the air pollution level came a day after firecrackers were burst on Dussehra, even as authorities appealed to have eco-friendly celebrations.

Also Read | Supreme Court raps LG Baijal for inaction over Delhi's 'mountains of garbage'

However, the CPCB said that this was not the only reason and some other factors, including vehicular pollution, construction activities and direction of the wind, were also responsible for the increasing air pollution.

The pollution control board warned that as many as 33 areas in Delhi, including Anand Vihar, DTU, Mundaka, Narela, Nehru Nagar and Rohini, showed very poor air quality and were heading towards severe pollution levels.

Not just in Delhi, the air quality in the surrounding Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida was also recorded ‘very poor’.

Also Read | Delhi facing acute shortage of public transport; needs 11,000 buses: AAP govt to SC

An Air Quality Index (AQI) between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".