Delhi Air Quality: No respite in sight as AQI oscillates between 'poor' and 'very poor'

With no respite in sight for Delhiites any time soon, the air quality in the national capital continued to oscillate between the ‘Poor and ‘Very Poor’ categories on Monday. At Lodhi Road, both PM10 and PM2.5 were in the ‘Poor’ category at 237 and 219, respectively. Authorities have also warned of deteriorating air quality in the coming days leading up to Diwali and the colder months ahead.

#Delhi: PM 10 level at 237 and PM 2.5 level at 219 both in 'Poor' category on Air Quality Index (AQI), at Lodhi Road. pic.twitter.com/h2jeqDbv3o

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2018

On Monday morning, The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 292 by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) reported an AQI of 318, which falls in the “very poor” category.

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An 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”.

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.

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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.

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