New Delhi (NVI): The air quality in Delhi deteriorated to the ‘poor’ category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) being recorded at 202, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) confirmed.
This was mainly because of the calm surface winds which and forecasted to increase gradually.
According to the CPCB data, the AQI in parts of Delhi — RK Puram was recorded at 217, 250 in ITO, 80 in Lodhi Road, 251 in Chandni Chowk and 168 in Dilshad Garden, falling under the ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ category.
On Monday, the AQI in the national capital was recorded at 245 in ‘poor’ category.
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’.
The Ministry of Earth Science’s air quality monitor, SAFAR said that the concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 10 and 2.5 microns stood at 220 (moderate) and 89 (poor) respectively,
Moreover, the air monitoring agencies have warned that the AQI in Delhi-NCR will improve further over the next few days due to the change in wind speed.
SAFAR also stated that the overall Delhi air quality is in the high end of the ‘Moderate’ category. Surface winds are moderate and forecasted to stay high for the next 72 hours and better ventilation is forecasted.
“However, an increase in coarse dust contribution in suspended particles is expected due to the dust raising high winds. Chance for significant long-range transport of dust from the arid region for a short period exists. AQI is likely to stay in the ‘Poor’ to ‘Moderate’ category for the next three days,” it added.
Furthermore, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) regional centre predicted strong surface winds during the day time in Delhi. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature settled at 38 degrees Celsius, IMD added.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Monday was recorded the highest in 76 years as the mercury level at the Safdarjung observatory rose to 40.1 degrees Celsius.
-RJV
