As the capital gears up to celebrate Diwali, Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the ‘poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, October 17, reeling under rising pollution levels.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the capital recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 254 at 4 pm, placing it in the ‘poor’ category.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 as “moderate”, 201 to 300 as “poor”, 301 to 400 as “very poor” and 401 to 5.
Delhi AQI
Of the 38 monitoring stations in the capital, five reported air quality in the “very poor” category.
Among them, Anand Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 382, followed by Wazirpur (351), Bawana 315, Jahangirpuri (342) and Siri Fort 309, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A similar air quality forecast for the coming days has been issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi.
Emissions from transport remained the biggest contributor to air pollution in Delhi on Friday, accounting for 17.9% of total emissions, according to data from the Decision Support System (DSS).
Air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR)
Among neighboring NCR cities, Ghaziabad recorded a “very poor” AQI of 306, the worst in the country on Friday. Noida (278) and Gurugram (266) also recorded “poor” air quality, while Faridabad (105) remained in the “moderate” range.
Ghaziabad had the most polluted air in India on Friday, while Noida, Gurugram and Delhi, all part of the Delhi-NCR cluster, figured among the country’s 10 most polluted cities at various positions.
Stubble burning incidents
Satellite data indicated that stubble burning cases were detected in several states: 49 in Uttar Pradesh, 20 in Punjab and 2 in Haryana.
Delhi weather forecast
On the weather front, the maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 32.6 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 18.4 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees below normal.
The relative humidity was 74 percent at 8:30 am and 61 percent at 5:30 pm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD has predicted a foggy morning on Saturday, with the maximum temperature likely to touch 33 degrees Celsius and minimum around 19 degrees Celsius.
