People of Delhi continued to breathe easy on Thursday as the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) level remained in the ‘moderate’ category besides registering a marginal improvement from that of Wednesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 165 on Thursday while the cities adjoining the national capital, including Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida, and Faridabad, also recorded air quality in the ‘moderate’ zone, with index values staying below 200. However, five places in the national capital recorded the AQI level under the ‘poor’ category with numbers above 200.
The highest air pollution level was measured in the Shadipur area with an AQI reading of 264 followed by Nehru Nagar at 232, Mundka at 221, Jahangirpuri at 210, and IHBAS Dilshad Garden at 203.
The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its weather and air quality bulletin for Delhi, however, forecast the pollution under the ‘Poor’ category from Friday to Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) can relax the Graded Response Action Plan’s (GRAP) anti-pollution measures in force up to stage IV after a hearing in the matter in the Supreme Court.
Delhi, on Thursday, recorded the minimum and the maximum temperatures between 8 and 25.6 degrees Celsius respectively while the sky remained mainly clear through the day.