Delhi’s air quality on Tuesday morning fell to the ‘very poor’ category, after a slight improvement in the previous days. That means Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) is a return to the chronic pollution the city has been battling this winter.
After 24 days of “very bad” air, often approaching the “severe” zone, Delhi’s AQI improved to “poor” at 279 on Sunday.
According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, at 9:00 am on Tuesday, Delhi’s AQI was at 340. This morning, the area around the famous Akshardham temple was shrouded in a layer of toxic smog with an AQI of 383, classified as ‘very bad’.
In some areas, the AQI was closer to the dark red zone, the “severe” category. CPCB recorded AQI of 383 in Ghazipur area on Tuesday morning as a layer of toxic smog covered the city.
Areas around India Gate, Kartavya Path and ITO also recorded air quality levels approaching severe.
The CPCB classifies an AQI between 201 and 300 as “bad”, 301 and 400 as “very bad” and 401 and 500 as “severe”.
Before Sunday, Delhi’s last recorded AQI this season was in the ‘poor’ category on November 5, when it was 202.
Monday’s AQI followed a weekly trend of 279 on Sunday, 305 on Saturday, 369 on Friday, 377 on Thursday, 327 on Wednesday, 352 on Tuesday and 382 on Monday.
According to the CPCB-developed Sameer app, no monitoring station in Delhi recorded “severe” air quality on Monday, a trend similar to that seen over the weekend, unlike eight stations that fell in the “severe” zone on Friday.
November’s average AQI was 357 – in the “very poor” range, but slightly better than 374 in 2024 and 366 in 2023. The city did not have any “good”, “satisfactory” or “average” air quality days last month. Instead, she recorded three “bad”, 24 “very bad” and three “severe” days.
