Delhi wakes up to dense fog, air quality drops to ‘severe’ zone

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s air quality was in the “severe” category on Friday morning amid dense fog as the minimum temperature was expected to plunge to 6 degrees Celsius. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the hourly Air Quality Index (AQI) was 355 at 8am. On Thursday, the average 24-hour AQI was 321.

A foggy morning in New Delhi. (HT Photo)

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.

On Thursday, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research said the prevailing partially cloudy conditions with low temperature, low wind speed, and low mixing layer height were leading to the accumulation of pollutants. It added the air quality was likely to degrade to the very poor category by Thursday evening or Friday and remain the same for the next three days.

The maximum temperature on Friday was expected to reach 17 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, the maximum temperature was 16.7 degrees Celsius.