Delhi's AQI worsens, air remains 'very poor'

New Delhi, Nov 09: The air quality in Delhi deteriorated further on Wednesday and was recorded at 339 in 'very poor' category accompanied by smog that covered the skies and lowered the visibility in the Capital. Delhi's overall AQI was recorded at 321 in 'very poor' category on Tuesday as well.

Along with Delhi, National Capital Region (NCR) also witnessed 'very poor' air quality. Noida's AQI was recorded at 371, while Gurugram stood at 338 in 'very poor' category, and AQI was recorded 'severe' at 433 near Dhirpur.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.

Delhi-NCR continued to remain engulfed in a thick layer of smog. The air quality of the region is expected to be better from November 11 due to expected wind.

Amid the rising pollution in Delhi-NCR, the number of stubble burning incidents in Punjab were reportedly recorded less on Tuesday. According to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and SAFAR, the forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, the farm fire on Tuesday recorded 605 such cases, while it was 2,487 on Monday. Their share in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution dipped from 14 per cent on Monday to 9 per cent on Tuesday.

Talking about the air quality, Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, said the air quality is likely to become worse before improving on Friday, as reported by India Today.

"Though the contribution of stubble burning is not significant, calmer local winds are slowing the accumulation of locally generated pollutants," he said. He also added, "Wind speed is likely to improve to 15-20 kph from Friday onwards."

Following the improvement in Delhi's air quality over the last two days, the Delhi government on Monday took the decision to reopen primary classes from November 9. It also revoked the order asking 50 per cent of its staff to work from home.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi will remain banned under stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

If anyone violated the ban, a fine of Rs 20,000 would be imposed. However, vehicles deployed for emergency services, and government and election-related work are exempted.