New Delhi (NVI): The national capital overall air quality recorded a slight deterioration this morning but remained in the ‘poor’ category, the Ministry of Earth Science’s air quality monitor, SAFAR said.
According to the SAFAR’s bulletin, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi stood at 235 in ‘poor’ category. The national capital had recorded an AQI of 228 the previous morning.
The concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 10 and 2.5 microns stood at 249 (moderate) and 101 (poor) respectively at around 6 am.
Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data shows that, the AQI was recorded at 224 in Anand Vihar, 212 in Dwarka Sector 8, 215 in ITO, 206 in RK Puram, 231 in Rohini, 264 in Sonia Vihar and 220 in Vivek Vihar, all under the ‘poor’ category.
Whereas, Bawana, Chandni Chowk recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, with the AQI values docking at 301 and 388 respectively.
An AQI within the range of 0-5 is regarded as ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and 401-500 is considered ‘severe’.
SAFAR has predicted a marginal improvement in Delhi’s overall air quality.
“AQI is likely to marginally improve to the ‘moderate’ category for tomorrow. ‘Moderate’ to ‘poor’ AQI is forecast for March 23 and 24. Isolated thunderstorms with gusty winds can lead to local dust lifting on March 23 and 24,” it added.
Furthermore, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that very light rain with thunderstorms are likely to occur in Delhi today.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 34 degrees Celsius, IMD added.
-RJV
