Delhi's air quality is still 'poor', but likely to improve
The city's air quality index was 292 at 10 am. Its 24-hour average AQI was 283 on Thursday
Delhi's air quality is still “poor", but the central government agencies said it is likely to improve marginally due to favourable wind speed.
At 10 am on Friday, the city's air quality index was 292. Its 24-hour average AQI was 283 on Thursday, 211 on Wednesday and 171 on Tuesday. 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", and 401 and 500 "severe".
On Thursday, around 600 farm fire counts, which is by far the biggest reason for air pollution, were observed over Punjab, adjoining Pakistan and Haryana.
The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, Delhi-NCR, however, said, "The air quality will improve from poor to moderate on Saturday due to favourable wind conditions." The predominant surface wind direction is northwesterly and the maximum wind speed is 15 kmph, it said.
The cold weather -the national capital recorded a minimum temperature settled at 7.5 degrees Celsius - on Friday and calm wind trap pollutants close to the ground, while favourable wind speed helps in their dispersion.
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