Delhi witnesses ‘very poor’ air quality as foggy conditions persist | Check today's AQI here

Delhiites on Wednesday awoke to foggy conditions amid persistently 'very poor' air quality in the national capital, as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported. The overall AQI of the national capital region stood at 381 at 6 am today. 

However, some areas in Delhi have reported ‘severe’ air quality on Wednesday morning. The air quality at Punjabi Bagh was 430, followed by 413 in ITO, 407 in RK Puram, 428 in Patparganj, 414 in Dwarka Sector-8, 429 in Jahangirpuri, 402 in Rohini, and 421 in Wazirpur area. 

As per CPCB data, DTU's AQI stood at 329 at 6 am today and the air quality at IGI Airport (T3) was 368. In Ashok Vihar, the AQI was 387, followed by 166 in Najafgarh, 384 in Pusa, 387 in New Moti Bagh, and 357 in Burari. 

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".

Meanwhile, the Centre on Saturday decided to hold off on implementing stricter measures to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR, preferring to assess the effectiveness of the current actions.

The central government on Friday ordered a ban on non-essential construction work and plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi-NCR amid worsening air quality in the region.

A Sub-Committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for planning air pollution mitigation measures in Delhi-NCR, reviewed the situation on Saturday, the Environment Ministry said.

Observing that GRAP Stage III curbs were implemented only a day ago, the committee decided to wait and observe the impact of the measures implemented under Stage III before considering more severe actions under Stage IV, it said.

The Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP), the central government's air pollution control plan for Delhi-NCR, categorizes actions into four stages: Stage I - Poor (AQI 201-300); Stage II - Very Poor (AQI 301-400); Stage III - Severe (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - Severe Plus (AQI above 450).