Delhi pollution surge on Dhanteras, sees ‘poor’ air again | Check area-wise AQI

Delhi's air quality has deteriorated for the fifth consecutive day, with an AQI of 384 in Anand Vihar, classified in the 'very poor' category.

Air quality in the national capital continues to drop as Diwali approaches. Delhi breathed poor air for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 252 at 9 am.

The Air Quality Index in Delhi remained in the ‘poor' category for the fifth consecutive day.

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reading as of 7.56 am, Delhi's Anand Vihar logged its AQI at 384, which falls under the ‘very poor’ category.

Scattered areas across Delhi also experienced drops in air quality as they surpassed the 201 mark and remained in ‘poor’ category.

Vehicle emissions singlehandedly contributed to the rise in Delhi's AQI scores over the past few days. No respite is expected as the Air Quality Early Warning System forecast shows similar air quality for the coming days in Delhi.

Following is the area-wise AQI for Delhi on Saturday

Area	AQI
Bawana	307
Indira Gandhi International Airport-T3	200
Narela	274
Anand Vihar	384
Nehru Nagar	282
JLN Stadium	252
CRRI Mathura Road	246
Okhla Phase 2	228
Lodhi Road(IMD)	230

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and AQI score between 0-50 is considered ‘Good’ and has minimal impact, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’ and causes minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people, 100-200 is ‘moderate’ and causes breathing discomfort to people with diseases in their lungs, asthma or heart diseases, 201-300 is ‘poor’ and causes breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, and 401-500 is ‘severe’ which affects healthy people and impacts those with existing diseases.

AQI surge before Diwali

The national capital's struggle for clean air begins with the onset of winter season and the subsequent stubble burning in the adjoining states, which coincides with the Diwali. The national capital was able to maintain a long streak of clean air from June 11 till late last week, owing to rains and winds this monsoon that kept the air quality in check.

Unlike other years, Delhi this time has been seeing a sharp rise in AQI levels before Diwali.

The Supreme Court, after allowing the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, said that atrolling teams of multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, will ensure that only NEERI and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) approved green firecrackers with QR codes are burst during the designated days and timings, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday quoting officials.

The Supreme Court has directed Delhi Police to process temporary sale license applications for two days, ensuring timely readiness. After Diwali, retailers will be given two days to return or safely dispose of unsold stock, ensuring that restrictions are reinstated immediately, the officials said.

Around 140 PESO certified retailers in the national capital will be issued temporary licenses for selling firecrackers for Diwali, the report mentioned.

The Delhi government also held a series of high-level meetings, headed by environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, with enforcement agencies and stakeholders to discuss implementation of court guidelines.