New Delhi (NVI): The overall air quality in Delhi improved to the ‘moderate’ category this morning as the Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped to 173, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) confirmed.
This improvement was mainly because of a change in the wind direction and speed.
The concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 10 and 2.5 microns stood at 199 and 82 at around 6 am, both falling under the ‘moderate’ category, as per SAFAR’s pollution bulletin.
The national capital had recorded an AQI of 269 in the ‘poor’ category, the previous morning.
Several areas of Delhi such as Anand Vihar recorded AQI at 298, Mathura Road at 293, Dwarka Sector 8 at 265, Dilshad Garden at 216, Punjabi Bagh at 284 and RK Puram at 290 all in the ‘poor’ category, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data shows.
Meanwhile, the AQI was recorded at 313 in Alipur, 339 in Bawana, 302 in Jahangirpuri, 314 in ITO and 305 in Vivek Vihar, all falling under the ‘very poor’ category.
According to the government agencies, 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 further said that a marginal decrease in surface winds is forecast for the next 24 hours.
“The city’s AQI is likely to marginally deteriorate but in the higher end of the ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category for the next two days,” it added.
Apart from this, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 18.8 degrees Celsius today, five notches above the season’s average. The maximum temperature will hover around 32 degrees Celsius, the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) said.
-RJV
