The air quality in Delhi remained in the ‘very poor category’ with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 337 on Sunday.
The AQI between zero 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 System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the National Capital’s overall AQI was recorded at 316 in the “very poor” category on Saturday morning.
The concentration of both PM 2.5 and PM 10 in the environment was recorded at 316 and 217 respectively under “very poor” and “poor category” respectively.
The overall Air Quality Index of Delhi’s neighbouring cities of NOIDA further deteriorated to the severe category with the air quality index recorded at 478. Gurugram’s overall air quality was recorded at 293 in the “poor category”.
The air quality index at Pusa, Lodhi Road, and Mathura Road were recorded 331, 293 and 329 respectively in the “very poor” category as per the SAFAR system. The prolonged exposure to poor category air quality may lead to respiratory illness.
Earlier on Friday, the air quality in the national capital was in the ‘very poor’ category and was recorded at 303 at around 11 am as per SAFAR.
The areas near Delhi university saw an AQI of 316. As the mercury dropped in the national capital the smog levels also increased. In the NCR region, the air quality peaked in Noida with an AQI of 448. The AQI in Gurugram was recorded at 304.
Earlier, The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a Union government panel recommending steps to control air pollution in the national capital, announced a temporary ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi-NCR as part of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The announcement came after the air quality in Delhi and the national capital region breached the ‘severe’ category.
However on Wednesday, the CAQM lifted the ban from the construction activities which was followed by the transport department revoking the ban on the transport activities.
“Delhi’s AQI has progressively been improving from a level of 407 (severe) on Sunday to a level of 353 (very poor) on Tuesday and to 304 (very poor) on Wednesday, which is about 100 AQI points below the threshold to for invoking Grap Stage III directions (AQI of 401-450). Further, the AQI is seeing a downward trend and the sub-committee of CAQM, accordingly, decides to revoke, with immediate effect, its order dated December 4, 2022, which had invoked all measures of Stage-III of Grap,” CAQM said in its order on Wednesday evening.