Delhi air quality ‘very poor’, AQI at 323; no relief from high pollution levels for next few days

Delhi air quality stood at 323 on Tuesday, November 21, morning at 6:30 am, which lies in the ‘very poor’ category according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

According to monitoring agencies, Delhi and its suburbs registered Marginal improvement on November 19, Sunday, but major relief from high pollution levels is unlikely over the next few days. Delhi registered13.2 degree Celsius temperature today as per India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Following an improvement in air quality, restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) - 4 were lifted in Delhi, but Environment Minister Gopal Rai advised people to continue following the rules since stages 1, 2, and 3 of GRAP are still in effect to combat air pollution, according to ANI.

Gopal Rai said, “Though there has been a constant improvement in air quality, people still need to be aware in order to maintain this improvement,” as quoted by ANI.

According to SAFAR, the air quality index at IIT Delhi was 321, at the Airport (Terminal 3) area was 336, and at Pusa it was 337.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded an AQI of 374 in Anand Vihar at 7:41 am, 399 in Jahangirpuri, 315 in Lodhi Road, and 370 in New Moti Bagh.

A quality index of 0 to 100 indicates good air quality, a quality index of 100 to 200 indicates moderate quality, a quality index of 200 to 300 indicates poor quality, a quality index of 300 to 400 indicates very poor and a quality index of 400 to 500 is considered severe.

Using the Air Quality Index, you can communicate air quality status to people in easy-to-understand terms. In this tool, complex air quality data is transformed into a single number (index value), nomenclature, and color.

As a result of improved air quality in Delhi, the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) lifted restrictions imposed under GRAP 4 on Saturday, allowing trucks and buses to enter the city except for BS-3 and BS-4 petrol and diesel vehicles and lifting the ban on construction work.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', 401 and 450 'severe' and above 450 ‘severe plus’, according to PTI.

The Centre on Saturday removed stringent curbs, including a ban on construction work related to linear projects and the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi in view of a dip in air pollution levels due to favourable wind speed and direction, the report added.