Delhi Pollution: Delhi woke up again to a smog-filled morning as the air quality in the national capital deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday after showing signs of improvement earlier this week.
A layer of smog engulfed Delhi on Saturday morning as the Air Quality Index (AQI) declined to 355 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According to CPCB categorisation, 0-50 is ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’
Some parts of Delhi slipped back into the ‘severe’ category on Saturday as of 8 am, including:
Anand Vihar – 410
Jahangirpuri – 414
Narela – 406
Rohini – 406
Shadipur – 408
Overall, the city’s air quality showed a clear downward trend. The 24-hour average AQI stood at 332 at 4 p.m. on Friday, a significant rise compared to 234 recorded on Thursday. Weather officials attributed the spike in pollution levels to calm wind conditions associated with an approaching western disturbance.
The air quality in Delhi had earlier improved to 220 (poor) at 9 am on Friday, with several parts of the capital in the ‘moderate’ category. This came after the Delhi government revoked stage four of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Wednesday as the air quality in the capital improved. The decision to revoke GRAP-4 has been taken by the Sub-Committee after reviewing the situation.
Meteorological experts have cautioned that pollution levels may remain elevated in the coming days due to a series of western disturbances expected to affect the region. In view of the prevailing conditions, the weather department has issued a yellow alert, warning of moderate to dense fog across Delhi and adjoining areas.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 7.7 degrees Celsius on Friday and a maximum of 22.3 degrees, as per IMD data. The weather department has warned of moderate fog at many places and dense fog at isolated places on Saturday and Sunday.
