Delhi’s AQI slips into ‘poor’ category, worst in over 85 days

New Delhi: After a spell of clean air, Delhi witnessed a steep deterioration in air quality on Sunday as the overall air quality index slipped into the “poor” category with a reading of 261, the highest in over 85 days

New Delhi: After a spell of clean air, Delhi witnessed a steep deterioration in air quality on Sunday as the overall air quality index slipped into the “poor” category with a reading of 261, the highest in over 85 days.

Delhi recorded an overall air quality index of 261, with the worst at Anand Vihar at AQI of 449 (severe). (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Within Delhi, Anand Vihar monitoring station recorded the worst air quality, falling in the “severe” category with an AQI of 449, followed by Jahangirpuri and Alipur, which recorded AQIs of 344 and 311 (very poor), respectively.

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall AQI was the highest since April 17, with 263.

The city recorded AQIs of 48 on Thursday, 65 on Friday, and 140 on Saturday, while air quality remained in the “moderate” and “satisfactory” categories for most of the month.

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

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) attributed the sudden deterioration in air quality to long-range, transboundary winds carrying mineral dust from storm activity in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, which moved towards northwestern India, including Delhi, leading to elevated PM10 concentrations.

“Delhi’s daily average AQI breached the 200 mark and recorded 261 on Sunday, as per the daily AQI bulletin by CPCB. Following this, the CAQM’s sub-committee on the GRAP convened a review meeting and attributed the decline in air quality to long-range transboundary transport of mineral dust...AQI is expected to improve in a couple of days as the transboundary dust spell subsides,” the CAQM said in a statement.

According to Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet Weather, the situation is likely to persist in the next few days, with air quality expected to improve only after the next spell of showers in the Capital. With no significant possibility of rainfall until July 19 or 20, Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ category during this period. However, any increase in wind speed could help disperse pollutants and bring some improvement in air quality,” said Palawat.

Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the “feels-like” temperature at Safdarjung station — the Capital’s representative weather station — stood at 45.7 degrees Celsius. The maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 36.8°C, 1.3 degrees above normal and 28.3°C, 1 notch above normal.

The city is experiencing partly cloudy skies with no rain, and humidity is pegged at 52%.

Weather conditions are likely to remain largely unchanged in the coming week, with the maximum temperature expected to reach 39°C and the minimum around 26°C, the IMD said.