New Delhi (NVI): The air quality in national capital deteriorated today with some places falling under ‘severe’ category as the level of pollutants has been on the rise.
According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the city’s overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 400 at around 10 am.
An AQI at 440 was recorded in Bawana, 443 in Mundka, 420 in Pratapganj, all three under ‘severe’ category, and 329 in Lodhi Road (very poor), as per the CPCB mobile app SAMEER.
Jahangirpuri and ITO also recorded ‘severe’ levels of air pollutants. Apart from that, the national capital witnessed a thin layer of smog this morning.
The neighbouring region of Noida and Gurugram also registered air quality in the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ category this morning with an AQI of 414 and 290 respectively.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ monitoring system SAFAR had predicted that the AQI is likely to improve towards the lower end of ‘very poor’ by Wednesday evening and likely to stay at ‘very poor’ to the higher end of poor on November 26.
The current deterioration in Delhi’s air quality was largely due to weather conditions adverse to the dispersal of pollutants and local pollution sources.
In addition to this, PM2.5 now remains the lead pollutant instead of PM10 as a characteristic of wintertime.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
In order to improve the capital’s air quality, Delhi government recently installed 23 anti-smog guns, at key intersections and construction sites across the city and assured that this number will be increased, if necessary.
-RJV
