Delhi’s air quality turns ‘severe’; AQI reading stands at 413

The Air Quality Index 300 to 400 is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 is severe

Delhi’s air quality turned ‘severe’ on Wednesday at 9am with the air quality index (AQI) reading of 413, worsening from the average 24-hour AQI reported a day earlier, courtesy the reduced wind speeds over the last few hours overnight.

The AQI of Delhi remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

The hourly average AQI was shared by the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app at 9:10am which had touched 413 with 30 of the 37 active station recording severe air pollution levels.

The AQI of Delhi remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as the city recorded a 24-hour average of 372, the CPCB read.

After staying ‘severe’ for five days, improved wind speed had helped reduce pollution levels on Saturday when restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan stage 4 (GRAP IV) were revoked.

Wind speed of as high as 15kmph was reported on Tuesday afternoon from the northwest direction, helping marginally in keeping pollution levels in check.

However, the AQI had been gradually increasing since evening.

Officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the wind speeds reached upto 155kmph over Palam as well as Safdarjung, which is the highest recorded in the city since the western disturbance last hit on November 10, bringing light rain. The wind speed, however, is likely to reduce.

“The wind speed is likely to reduce to around 8-10kmph by Wednesday afternoon and will be coming from northwest direction,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

With the prevalent Meteorological conditions, AQI that is already touching the ‘severe’ category may rise further over the day.

With winds from northwest, the contribution of stubble burning to the pollutants in Delhi is also expected to increase while the contribution of the transport sector may reduce.

Minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to be around 11°C and 26°C respectively on Wednesday.