Delhi AQI improves, but still in ‘very poor’ category

The national capital remained engulfed in dense fog on Wednesday morning when visibility remained zero till 8 am.

National capital Delhi is breathing ‘very poor’ air as the Air Quality Index (AQI) is recording a reading of 309 on Thursday morning.

Delhi is breathing very poor air on Thursday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

After a brief improvement in the air quality, many areas in Delhi once again recorded ‘very poor’ AQI. The AQI in Chandni Chowk, Pusa Road, and Lodhi Road was 347, 327 and 338, respectively today.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 is marked as severe/hazardous.

The PM2.5 concentration, according to Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), is 313 at Mathura Road and 306 at Lodhi Road - both in ‘very poor’ category.

The national capital remained engulfed in dense fog on Wednesday morning when visibility remained zero till 8 am, disrupting flight operations at the Delhi airport where over 250 flights were delayed and five diverted.

“Between 4 am and 7 am only CAT-3 compliant flights were allowed to land. Take-offs continued, but with a delay as airspace had to be closed for Republic Day rehearsals,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.

The dense fog also kept the air quality in the ‘very poor’ zone on Wednesday, with the air quality index (AQI) settling at 370, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Meanwhile, the city’s minimum temperature Wednesday was 7.1 degrees Celsius, three notches below season’s average. The maximum recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, considered to be the city’s official temperature, was 17.9 degrees Celsius.

According to the Union ministry of earth science’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), the PM10 (particulate matter with diameter of less than 10 micrometres) was 319 while the PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) was 177.