Delhi’s air quality remains ‘very poor’; light rain likely in next 2 days

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“

Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday morning with an AQI (air quality index) value of 349 on the central pollution control board (CPCB) city-wise AQI index at 10am.

There was a blanket of smog in Delhi amid rising levels of pollution. (ANI image)

Delhi’s AQI will remain in the very poor category till Thursday, with wind expected to predominantly blow in from the easterly to south-easterly direction, reducing the impact of stubble burning on air quality, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The national Capital is also likely to see a spell of light rain and drizzle on Thursday, it said.

On Tuesday, AQI was in the “very poor” category with a reading of 354, the CPCB’s daily 4pm bulletin stated.

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“.

At least 31 out of 36 monitoring stations had readings in the “very poor” category at 10am on Tuesday, with Jahangpuri with the worst AQI at 394. Nehru Nagar was a close second, with a reading of 384.

According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, the air quality is likely to remain in “very poor” category on Tuesday.

The air quality is likely to deteriorate further and reach the upper end of “very poor” category on Wednesday and Thursday. Subsequently, for the next three days, the air quality is likely to remain largely in the “very poor” category.