Delhi's AQI remains in ‘very poor’ category for now, may see improvement

Of the 58 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi that recorded data on Tuesday, 30 reported very poor air quality.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) continued to hover marginally above the 300 mark on Wednesday morning, with the city recording an AQI of 305 at 10am, compared with 299 at 4pm on Tuesday, though the situation is expected to see improvement, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS).

A drone view of the smog-engulfed air near Akshardham Temple, with 'Poor' AQI, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in New Delhi. (ANI Video Grab)

Of the 58 air quality monitoring stations that recorded data on Tuesday, 30 reported very poor air quality. The Chhawla monitoring station recorded the worst AQI at 400, followed by Chandni Chowk at 391 and Delhi Technological University at 388.

Delhi Cantonment and Sri Aurobindo Marg were the only two locations where air quality remained moderate, with AQI readings of 135 and 155, respectively. PM10 was the predominant pollutant across the national capital.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 as “good”, 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 as “moderate”, 201 and 300 as “poor”, 301 and 400 as “very poor”, and 401 and 500 as “severe”.

Warm weather and easterly winds aided the dispersion of pollutants after Diwali, before conditions stabilised over the past 24 hours. Southwesterly winds prevailed over Delhi during this period, reaching speeds of 10-15 kmph, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin.

Delhi weather

The IMD said shallow fog occurred at many places across Delhi during the morning hours. The city is likely to witness mainly clear skies during the day, with partly cloudy conditions towards the evening.

Forecast

Meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya said the season’s first western disturbance is expected to reach the Himalayas between November 12 and 15. He added that surface-level winds are likely to shift to a southwesterly direction during this period, with slightly higher wind speeds potentially aiding further improvement in Delhi’s AQI on November 13 and 14.

“A moderately active western disturbance is expected to affect most parts of Kashmir and north Himachal Pradesh between November 12 and 15, with peak intensity on November 12 and 13. Cloud cover is likely to increase over Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi-NCR during this period, with a chance of light rainfall in parts of north Punjab, north Rajasthan, and west Haryana on November 14 and 15. Delhi-NCR, the rest of Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh are unlikely to receive any rainfall from this western disturbance, as per the current analysis,” Dahiya said.

The Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi has also forecast a decline in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations over the next two days.