Delhi’s air quality continues to be ‘severe’
Even though the city’s air quality had been showing a downward trend for the last few days, this was a major deterioration from Monday’s 332, in the "very poor" category
Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the "severe" category on Wednesday morning, with the average hourly air quality index (AQI) reading reaching 435 at 7am.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data shows that the overall AQI reading of Delhi on Tuesday was 418, in the "severe" zone. Even though the city’s air quality had been showing a downward trend for the last few days, this was a major deterioration from Monday’s 332, in the "very poor" category.
Before this, Delhi"s air quality had reached the "severe" zone on December 5, when the overall AQI reading of the city was recorded 404.
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The pollution levels showed a steady increase from Tuesday morning, when the average hourly AQI reading deteriorated from 352 at 7am to 377 at 12pm, before rising above the 400-mark.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientists warned that the forecast does not show any significant improvement in wind speed till December 26, which means that the pollution levels are also expected to be on a rise. The temperature is also forecasted to dip and reach around 4 degrees Celsius in the next two days, IMD said.
On Tuesday, the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official recording for the city, was 5.3 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal. The maximum temperature was 23.9 degrees Celsius.
