New Delhi: A day ahead of Diwali, air pollution in the national capital escalated significantly, with eight monitoring stations indicating ‘very poor’ air quality on Wednesday.
Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 278 at 9 am, a slight increase from the 268 recorded the previous day.
The city’s AQI remained in the ‘poor’ category, a slight improvement from Tuesday, attributed to favourable wind speeds following several days of ‘very poor’ air quality.
Delhi’s AQI was 304 on Monday and 359 on Sunday.
An AQI from zero to 50 is ‘good,’ 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory,’ 101 to 200 is ‘moderate,’ 201 to 300 is ‘poor,’ 301 to 400 is ‘very poor,’ and 401 to 500 is ‘severe.’
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board shows that, of the 36 monitoring stations reporting, eight — Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Vivek Vihar, and Wazirpur — registered ‘very poor’ AQI levels in the morning.
Temperatures remain high, with Delhi recording a minimum of 21 degrees Celsius, nearly 5 degrees above the seasonal norm.
Humidity was at 83 per cent at 8 am. The city is expected to experience mainly clear skies, with the maximum temperature likely to reach around 36 degrees Celsius.
