The air quality in Delhi and neighbouring National Capital Region on Sunday deteriorated to “very poor” category.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital city was recorded at 309 in the morning, according to ANI, which cited data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.
The air quality around Delhi University was recorded at 341 (very poor) in the morning hours while in IIT area it was recorded at 300. Similarly, in Lodhi Road area it was recorded at 262 in the ‘poor’ category.
In neighbouring Noida, the AQI stood at 317 (very poor) and 221 (poor) in Gurugram, according to ANI.
Earlier this week, the average AQI in Delhi was 261 on Friday, 256 on Thursday, 243 on Wednesday and 220 on Tuesday.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”. An AQI above 500 falls in the “severe plus” category.
In its bulletin on Delhi’s air quality, the India Meteorological Department forecast predominant surface wind likely from variable directions in Delhi with wind speed 04-08 kmph, resulting in mainly clear sky and mist in the morning on October 29.
On Friday, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that a 15-point winter action plan is being implemented one by one to curb pollution in the city.
“Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb the pollution caused by vehicles, biomass burning, dust, etc. Now this winter action plan is being implemented on the ground one by one to reduce the pollution in the national capital,” Rai told ANI.
The Delhi minister also attributed vehicles as one of the major causes of the pollution is vehicles, adding that the government has started the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign to tackle this.
Air quality in Mumbai at ‘moderate’ level
As Delhi and parts of the NCR region are grappling with ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ air quality, the overall air quality in Mumbai continues to remain in the ‘moderate’ category.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai on Sunday morning was recorded at 139, according to data analysed by SAFAR. The air quality in the Worli area was marked ‘satisfactory’ with AQI at 75.
Article source: hindustantimes.com
