Strong winds slightly improved Delhi's air quality but remained in the 'very poor' category for the fourth straight day, with a reading of 359 on Monday morning, as a thick layer of smog shrouded the national capital. Monday's AQI was a slight improvement from 377 on Sunday and 386 on Saturday.
As per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)'s Sameer app, the Air Quality Index (AQI) at six of the national capital's 39 monitoring stations was in the 'severe' category, with Bawana being the worst at 427. The remaining areas of DTU (402), Jahangirpuri (406), Narela (406), Rohini (404) and Wazirpur (402) had deteriorating air quality levels.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe', according to CPCB standards.
Lodhi Road (226) and NSIT Dwarka (225) recorded the lowest pollution levels, with the AQI in 'poor' category.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), Ghaziabad was the worst-affected city with an AQI of 395, which falls in the 'very poor' category. Greater Noida (386) and Noida (361) also witnessed 'very poor' air quality levels.
Faridabad had the lowest AQI of 247, which falls in the 'poor' category, followed by Gurugram (260), with the city also seeing 'poor' air quality levels.
Meanwhile, Delhi on Sunday recorded a low of 9 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 4.5 notches below normal, making it the coldest November day in three years in the national capital, the weather office said.
This was the coldest day in the month since November 29, 2022, when Delhi registered 7.3 degrees Celsius. In 2023, the mercury levels were lowest on November 23 at 9.2 degrees, and in 2024, 9.5 degrees recorded on November 29 was the coldest day.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted shallow fog on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle around 25 and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Source: ANI