Air quality in Delhi ‘poor’, AQI at 276
New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital remained in ‘poor’ category on Thursday also. According to SAFAR-India (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 276 on Thursday morning.
According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the AQI in the national capital was in the ‘poor’ category at 286 on Wednesday. However, on Thursday morning, the AQI in some areas of Delhi was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category. According to CPCB data, at 8 am on Thursday, AQI was 348 in Anand Vihar, 313 in ITO and 323 in Ashok Vihar area.
Speaking to ANI, Dev, a cyclist from the city, said, “The pollution levels seem very high now. “Breathing becomes difficult, visibility is affected and sometimes headaches also occur.”
Earlier, the AQI across Delhi improved from ‘very poor’ on Tuesday to ‘poor’ on Wednesday morning. According to CPCB data, on Wednesday the AQI was 291 in Anand Vihar, 279 in IGI Airport area, 252 in ITO and 283 in Narela area.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted no rain in the national capital till December 11. The sky will be clear in the morning with light to moderate fog throughout the city.
The air quality in Delhi has been ranging from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’ for the last few weeks.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had last week said that Grasp-3 has been lifted in the national capital but the government is trying to ensure that Grasp-1 and 2 are strictly implemented.
“There has been a decline in pollution due to change in weather during the last two days. Air Quality Management Commission has lifted the restrictions of Group-3. The ban on BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel vehicles and the ban on construction demolition have been lifted, Gopal Rai said.
“GRAP 3 is imposed when AQI is 400, but it continues despite low AQI as fluctuations in AQI were visible after Diwali. If the wind speed slows down, the AQI may rise again, hence GRAP-1 and GRAP-2 should be strictly enforced.” For this, instructions are being given again to all the departments.
The air quality index ranges from 0 to 100 as ‘good’, 100 to 200 as ‘moderate’, 200 to 300 as ‘poor’, 300 to 400 as ‘very poor’ and 400 to 500 or above is considered as ‘severe’.
