Delhi air quality in ‘moderate’ category; AQI recorded at 182

Delhiites Friday woke up to a ‘moderate’ air quality category. At India Gate, the Air Quality Index (AQI) on PM 10 level was at 182 according to the news agency ANI. The AQI has been moving from 'very poor to severe' for the past week. Similar conditions are likely to prevail in the coming days, according to SAFAR.

ALSO READ | Rajasthan Elections: Congress releases first list of 152 candidates, Pilot to contest from Tonk

Delhi: Visuals from India Gate. The area is at 182 on the air quality index (AQI), under 'Moderate' category. pic.twitter.com/sIXLLDwS2h

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2018

Earlier, Bhure Lal, chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), recommended to the pollution watchdog CPCB that it should implement either the odd-even scheme or impose a complete ban on non-CNG private vehicles if the air pollution level in Delhi increases again.

Lal reaction came on a day Delhi's air quality "improved significantly" since Diwali as overnight rains washed away larger pollutants and stubble burning in neighbouring states declined. The air quality, however, was "poor" with an AQI of 293.

A couple of days ago, Lal had written to chief secretaries of Delhi and neighbouring states, asking them to consider a ban on private vehicles barring those running on CNG.

In a letter to CPCB member secretary Prashant Gargava, Lal said all cities, which have similar emergency plans “like Paris or Beijing” include restrictions on private vehicles, adding that vehicles contribute as much as 40 per cent of the total emission load in Delhi and roughly 30 per cent in the region.

ALSO READ | Five things to know about NASA InSight spacecraft’s Mars landing

AQI categories

1. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’
2. AQI between 51 and 100 is ‘satisfactory’
3. AQI between 101 and 200 is ‘moderate’
4. AQI between 201 and 300 is ‘poor’
5. AQI between 301 and 400 is ‘very poor’
6. AQI between 401 and 500 is ‘severe’.