Delhi air quality improves slightly, slips to ‘very poor’ from ‘severe’

Delhi’s air quality showed marginal improvement on Wednesday morning, with pollution levels easing from the ‘severe’ category recorded a day earlier, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The Air Quality Index (AQI) for the national capital stood at 336 in the morning, down from 415 on Tuesday, placing it in the ‘very poor’ bracket. However, pollution levels remained a serious concern across most of the city.

Of the 40 air quality monitoring stations in Delhi, 36 reported readings in the ‘very poor’ category. Nehru Nagar recorded the highest AQI at 392, data from the CPCB’s Sameer application showed.

Under the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.

Fog and smog were reported in several parts of the city during the early morning hours, leading to reduced visibility.

Weather conditions remained relatively mild. The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 10.2 degrees Celsius, around 2.7 degrees above the seasonal average. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the maximum temperature is likely to be around 19 degrees Celsius.

Humidity levels were high at 100 per cent, and the IMD has forecast moderate fog conditions to persist through the day.

With PTI inputs