E-Paper
Clean air finally? Parts of Delhi see ‘moderate’ AQI after weeks
Delhi AQI today: While the overall AQI remained in the ‘poor’ category at 221, some places saw even better AQI with readings in the ‘moderate’ category.
Delhi's air quality saw a significant improvement on Thursday morning, a day after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas revoked curbs imposed under GRAP-4 in view of the improving trend.
While the overall air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category at 221, some places saw even better AQI with readings in the ‘moderate’ category - a reading that parts of Delhi--NCR are seeing after weeks of ‘very poor’ to 'severe' level air.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor' and 401 and 500 'severe'.
A list of places that saw moderate AQI as of 6 am this morning, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):
| Area | AQI |
|---|---|
| Sri Aurobindo Marg | 159 |
| IGI Airport | 119 |
| Mandir Marg | 174 |
| Lodhi Road | 133 |
| IIT-Delhi | 155 |
| Aya Nagar | 136 |
| CRRI Mathura Road | 161 |
| Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium | 173 |
Fog warning in place
While the air quality has improved, a fog warning remains in place for Delhi and adjoining areas for Thursday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a very strong possibility of dense to very dense fog on Thursday morning for Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu region, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
A similar warning was issued by the weather panel for isolated places in Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, East Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Odisha and West Bengal and Sikkim.
Why GRAP-IV measures were revoked
Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was invoked in Delhi on December 13, the day the AQI nosedived into the ‘severe' category and breached the 400-mark. Ever since, the readings remained in the ‘severe’ or ‘very poor’ category and a thick fog engulfed the city for large parts of the day.
However, the air quality saw significant improvement on Wednesday and Delhi's average AQI stood at 271, down from 412, recorded at 4 pm a day earlier.
This is why the CAQM revoked the anti-pollution curbs under GRAP-IV. However, all actions under Stages III, II and I of the extant schedule of GRAP are still in place.
The IMD has predicted the average AQI of Delhi to stay between 'poor' and 'very poor' categories in the coming days, news agency PTI said in a report.
