BackDelhi wakes up to toxic Tuesday, air quality worsens to ‘severe’ category
The AQI is at 469 in ITO, 489 in Narela, 497 in Sector 51, Gurugram (Haryana), and 480 in Sector 62, Noida (Uttar Pradesh), all in 'severe category', as per the CPCB
PremiumDelhi-NCR continues to reel under air pollution as the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood in the 'severe category' for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.
Visibility remained poor as the city’s air quality deteriorated, fed by smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed.
The AQI is at 469 in ITO, 489 in Narela, 497 in Sector 51, Gurugram (Haryana), and 480 in Sector 62, Noida (Uttar Pradesh), all in 'severe category', as per the CPCB.
Amid deteriorating air quality, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR from 9 November to midnight of 30 November.
Delhi's AQI was at 477 on Monday, the highest since 3 November, 2019, when it was 494, as per the CPCB. Its 24-hour average AQI was 416 on Sunday, 427 on Saturday, 406 on Friday and 450 on Thursday.
Patients complain of respiratory illnesses
Delhi doctors have seen a significant increase in the number of patients complaining of respiratory illnesses over the past few days, when pollution has been in the “severe" category.
“We have seen an increase of 15 to 20% in the number of people coming in with respiratory tract infections and aggravation of existing asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the last four to five days. People are also coming in with complaints of itchy eyes, throat irritation, and headaches," Dr Nevin Kishore, head of bronchology and respiratory medicine, Max healthcare told Hindustan Times.
A report from AIIMS earlier showed that at peak levels of pollution, which is between October and January, the emergency sees a 40% increase in patients with respiratory problems.
An AQI between 0-50 is marked good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate,201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is considered severe.
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