Delhi’s air quality in ‘very poor’ category, rain expected

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 “very poor” category on Friday as the city was expected to have generally overcast weather with light rain or drizzle on Friday. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the hourly Air Quality Index (AQI) at 7 am was 384.

A cold winter morning in New Delhi. (PTI)

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”.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research said AQI on Thursday indicated the “very poor” category. “Tomorrow (Friday), AQI is expected to remain ‘very poor’ as temperature and wind speed are likely to remain almost the same. It is likely to rain on 22nd and 23rd with gusty wind leading to wet deposition and strong dispersion resulting in significant improvement of AQI to ‘poor’.”

The minimum temperature on Friday was likely to be 10 degrees Celsius while the maximum of 19 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, the minimum temperature was 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum 19 degrees Celsius.