Air quality in Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) continued to remain at alarming levels on Wednesday, with the AQI at 9 am hovering at 371, in the “very poor” category, down from 420 at the same time on Tuesday, according to air quality monitor aqi.in.
Visuals from Delhi-NCR on Wednesday morning showed scenes that have become typical of winter, with toxic smog enveloping parts of the city.
With the nation’s capital suffering from terrible air quality for weeks now, there seems to be no respite anytime soon and no rain forecast for the next seven days.
However, residents of Delhi and surrounding areas can take solace in the fact that the ash plume from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano has not further affected the already dismal air quality as initially feared.
The IMD confirmed on Tuesday that the ash cloud from Africa would pass through the upper atmosphere and pose “no risk to anyone on the surface”.
The ash plume has since moved from northern India to China.
Dive into the particles
Although the AQI continued to remain in the very poor category, Wednesday’s data showed a noticeable drop in PM 2.5 levels, which remained at 232 at 9 am from 278 at the same time on Tuesday.
PM 10, Delhi’s main pollutant, also showed a significant drop, at 282 at 9 am on Wednesday, as against 371 24 hours back.
This means that both PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations remain far above the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which prescribes that exposure to PM 2.5 and PM 10 should not exceed 15 μg/m3 and 45 μg/m3, respectively.
Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida AQI
Meanwhile, the AQI in neighboring Gurugram stood at 365 at 9 am, marginally down from 371 at the same time on Tuesday.
Noida in Uttar Pradesh fared worse, with an AQI of 390 at 9 am on Wednesday. However, it was an improvement from Tuesday morning’s 431.
Greater Noida, meanwhile, had the worst air quality on Wednesday, recording an AQI of 440, unchanged from Tuesday.
