Delhi’s air quality enters ‘severe’ category, worst grade on pollution scale

As HT reported earlier, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply on Thursday, with the city’s PM2.5 concentration more than doubling in 24 hours.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated into the “severe” zone — the worst grade on the government’s pollution scale— on Friday morning, with a thick, smoky haze continuing to envelop the Capital.

A man walks in the Red Fort premises as a layer of haze covers the area, in New Delhi, (PTI)

According to HT’s real-time air quality dashboard, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 403 at 7.30am, 82 points higher than the 24 hours before it. As HT reported earlier, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply on Thursday, with the city’s PM2.5 concentration more than doubling in 24 hours to 244 micrograms per cubic metre by 6pm — four times the national standard.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI of 0-50 as “good”, 51-100 as “satisfactory”, 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor” and 401-500 as “severe”.

Deep Dive

What does a severe AQI mean in Delhi?

Why did Delhi’s air quality deteriorate to the severe category?

When could Delhi get relief from the pollution?

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According to HT’s dashboard, 32 of the 59 reporting stations were in the severe category, with IIT Delhi recording the highest rating of 488.